The World They Knew
by Cimar of Turalis
Summary: Hyrule is going to be under attack and they dont even know it yet. Will Link and Zelda with the aid of their friends combat this threat, or will a certain being from Link's past destroy all that they love. Both parts complete, enjoy. MalonxOC Please R
1. Prologue

**Introduction: The story takes place fourteen years after Link is sent back at the end of OoT and he has been married to Zelda for the past three years from the time this story takes place. Yes I know that Malink fans are going to be mad at me but I did that for a purpose. Besides, I might write a Malink story because I'd rather see them together. D**

**Please read through the story and put in reviews if you like what you read or don't like what you read since that will help make this story better. I'll keep on updating the story as soon as I can so thanks to everybody taking the time to read it. (Chapters 4, 8, 10 and 13 are especially fun to read in my opinion).**

Lastly, I am dedicating this story to my friends in the online game Astro Empires. They gave me the idea for this story and without them, I wouldn't have bothered to write this.

**Notice II: I do not own the Legend of Zelda, Nintendo does.**

* * *

**Prologue**

The water of Lake Hylia were smooth as crystal under the full moon, stars twinkling their approval of such a lovely day. Every now and then a small plop could be heard as a fish jumped through the crystal clear water, waiting for the suns rays to warm its home. A small island rose out of the depths of the lake near its center, covering the entrance of the temple beneath, a lone figure standing out above the small bushes and grass that covered the island.

A light breeze flew threw the air causing the flowers to sway back and forth to its tempo. The scientist loved coming out here to study the stars, away from everybody and everyone. He loved the peace and quiet that was offered, the only real sound being the small waves lapping up against the shores of the tiny island. After a few minutes, he started walking back towards his lab that stood just on the shore of the lake when a powerful breeze almost knocked him off of his feet. He righted himself and muttered a few words to himself and to the wind when he heard a low, mournful voice coming from behind him.

"Who's there?"

Silence was his response and he turned to walk back towards his home, his pace quickened almost unnoticeably.

Ploop...

The sound of water splashing jolted his head around in the direction of the sound. Concentric circles of ripples had formed right next to the island where he was standing. He walked over to the spot cautiously. He checked the spot where the circles had came from but found nothing. He turned and started back towards his house muttering.

"It must have been a fish, yeah…that's right…"

SPLASH…the man turned around quickly and saw that the water was now bubbling madly, waves crashing against the island.

"Who's there? I know somebody is here, show yourself!" He yelled, his knees wobbling as he moved forward, his cane brandished in front of him like a sword. Clouds were now covering the stars and moon, casting the night into an eerie darkness. He was frightened now. There had been rumors of thugs and monsters starting to appear in Hyrule again and he had been one of those people who scoffed at such things.

"_Monsters? In Hyrule? There haven't been any monsters in the past fourteen years, not since Ganondorf disappeared."_

_The stranger shook his head and sighed, "I'm telling you, I saw them over at Lake Hylia."_

"_Nonsense," he had said "I live there myself and have not yet seen a single creature there besides a random tektite since Link destroyed them all after Ganondorf disappeared. There are no monsters in Hyrule."_

He remembered that conversation just last week and had blown the man off as a lunatic. Link had helped him many times in the past and had gotten rid of the last monsters that lived near the lake long ago. Still… he looked down at the waves lapping at his feet…he could have missed one, maybe…

He started backing away from the spot, and then slowly turned to try to sprint for his house. As fast as his legs could carry him he ran across the bridges and towards his front door. He fumbled with his keys, trying to find the one to unlock his door but shuddered when he heard a raspy voice behind him.

"Hello, old man…"

He froze, dropping his keys to the ground as he slowly turned around to face the person who stood behind him.

"Who are…wait? Link? Is that you?" his shoulders dropped as he breathed out a sigh of relief "You gave me a scare there. I thought I heard noises coming from the lake; it might be some sort of creature. Could you check it out for me?"

The man still stood facing him, his eyes closed as if pondering the request. The scientist felt unnerved by the silence and bent over to retrieve his keys. When he stood back up, he gasped in surprise since Link had moved directly in front of his face, his eyes glowing a fierce crimson, not the warm blue ones that he knew his young friend had. He backed away slowly as the man walked towards him until his back was against the door. He stared up at the man in front of him and started to whimper as the figure drew his sword from its sheath.

"You're not Link, are you…" he said cowering as much as he could into the doorframe. The figure smirked and began to laugh, a cruel hideous laugh that drained the warmth from his body.

"Yes, I am him, but I am also not" he said as he raised his sword into the air, a small bit of moonlight gleaming off of the blade "I guess you could call me his dark side." A scream echoed throughout the lake, waking the crows and scattering them into the air. The figure looked down at the old man as he slid down to the grass, death already haven taken him. The man cackled again and cleaned off of his sword on the man's shirt and sheathed it as he walked into Hyrule field. His gaze fell upon the lights of Castle Town as they glimmered in the darkness. His eyes rose until they fell upon the castle at the far end of the town and he smiled. He knew she was there and he knew that he was there as well.

"I shall be visiting you shortly…" the figure said to himself, his gaze still focused on the marble edifice that was Hyrule castle. "I will come for you, after I get down with a little order of business." He turned away from the town and slowly started walking towards the west.

"Very soon" he mumbled to himself, a grin still etched onto his face "very soon indeed.

As he approached the entrance of the Gerudo Desert the figure vanished into the darkness that he had come from. The only thing reminding anyone of his visit would be the old man from the lake and not even Link could connect that to him. A storm slowly started to spread across the sky as thunder could be heard far off in the distance. A storm was coming…and it was a storm that would change the world of Hyrule forever.


	2. Chapter 1: Haunting in the Night

**Chapter 1**

**Haunting in the Night**

The knife plunged into his stomach as he stumbled backwards from the shock of what just happened. He felt a cold sensation run through his body and looked down to see a dark stain starting to appear on his tunic. He looked up just in time to watch as a ball of energy blasted into him. Pain now engulfed his entire body as he was blown backwards and slammed against the wall behind him, breaking through to the other side. As he lay in the rubble, barely holding on to consciousness, he watched his opponent who was laughing at him, charging another blast of energy.

"There is no need for me to delay this any longer Link. The Hero of Time, how pathetic. The last time we meet years ago you showed so much promise… I find it amusing that I had more of a problem killing Zelda than I have had killing you."

With his final words, he threw the gathered dark energy towards Link, who lay helpless against the rubble. He watched as it sped towards him. There was nothing he could do to stop it. There was only one thought on his mind as he watched the ball of energy screaming towards him. Sorry Zelda…I couldn't keep my promise.

* * *

Link awoke with a start, cold sweat running down his face. He looked down and grasped at his stomach to make sure that there was no dagger sticking out of him. This was the second day in a row that he had this same nightmare. Why was he having them? He shuddered as he remembered the details of the dream. This one was more terrifying than any previous nightmare he had ever had, including those that were real. He had fought Stalfos, Redead and even the Evil King himself, Ganondorf; but this opponent who he never saw the face of was even more terrifying than all of them combined. He sensed so much evil, so much power he felt nauseous just thinking about this night's experience.

He looked around the room he was in to make sure that what he had seen was a nightmare…He was still in his bedroom in Hyrule Castle. He saw the moon hiding behind some clouds through the pale blue curtains that fluttered in a light breeze. Nothing seemed out of place. His thoughts were disturbed by a voice next to him…

"What is it Link? What's wrong?" Link gasped a little, startled to see that he had woken up Zelda, who was now sitting up in bed next to him, looking at him with a worried yet comforting expression on her face. Just her gaze soothed Link's troubled mind.

"What is the matter, Link?" she asked again. She was awakened last night the same way, Link suddenly started out of sleep, sweat poring from his face. It frightened her to see the person she cared about in such anxiety.

"Nothings the matter, just a bad dream…Go back to sleep."

"Sorry, but I know that something is wrong. You are a very bad liar, Link," she said with a little smile, trying to hide the worry in her eyes. "Just tell me what is wrong, you can trust me."

Link sighed. He knew that by telling her his dream, she might become fearful of the future and what could happen, but if he lied, she would pester him until he told her anyways…so he told her. A look of horror crossed Zelda's face as she heard what Link was saying…

"How did Ganondorf escape from the Evil Realm? He was banished there by the sages over fourteen years ago for trying to take over the Hylian throne. There is no way he could have escaped."

"This wasn't Ganondorf, I could tell. I could sense even more evil emanating from this person, besides this thing didn't act like Ganondorf…maybe this was all just a nightmare of my previous fights with one of his monsters or…" he sighed, not really knowing how to explain this person and the dream he had.

"I don't think so, Link," Zelda said, "There was never any experience that was as horrifying as what you described.

Link pondered on Zelda's words. She was right about his dreams; they always seemed to predict the outcome of future events. He remembered his first dreams about Ganondorf when he was a child. Those dreams started out his quest that eventually led to the sealing of that evil man into the Dark Realm. This dream, he hoped actually wasn't a prediction of the future. Any future that included someone even more evil than Ganondorf was something that made him cringe.

"Lets just go back to bed Link and forget about all of these dreams. Don't worry about it anymore. It probably was just that, a bad dream."

"Your right Zelda…it probably was just a bad dream."

Trying to lighten the tone of the conversation a little she added, "Besides this is why I married you in the first place, you always seemed troubled. Somebody needed to be able to calm you down so you wouldn't get into any more trouble."

Link laughed at that. His life did seem to have calmed down after marrying the princess. He rarely went on adventures nowadays; usually what he spent his days doing was helping out the people around Hyrule with various jobs. His daily sword practice seemed to be the most exciting thing in his life right now.

"Your right" he said with a laugh, "the only adventure I get to have now is trying to find ways out of all of the formal occasions that the King keeps planning for us."

Zelda smiled and laughed. Link always had the most ingenious of ways to get out of the formal dinners and appointments that were planned for him, albeit some not as smart as others.

"You mean like the time you tried to pretend that Epona had kicked you and broken your arm so you couldn't attend that banquet two months ago?" she asked with a sly smile, her eyebrow raised slightly.

Link, with a slightly down turned face said, "Was it that easy to figure out?"

She giggled, "Of course it was, especially after I threw that apple at you and you caught it with your 'broken arm'. Now let's get some sleep for tomorrow, I heard that father had something special planned for us."

Link grimaced at the thought of what the King might have planned. "Well, I guess your right. We should be prepared for whatever special arrangement he has planned, I'll see if Epona wants to kick me again…" Link said with a wry smile as he tried to make himself comfortable again as he lay in bed. He slowly began to drift off to sleep, completely forgetting about the nightmare that had scared him awake just a few minutes prior. Less than a minute later he was asleep.

Zelda smiled as she saw that Link was again sleeping soundly, not worrying about the nightmare that had awoken him. Zelda stayed awake a little longer, contemplating what Link had said though. It really frightened her to know that what Link had seen had been so graphic like he actually was there in the room with this evil being…she shuddered at the thought of what the dream must have been like for him. She hoped to the Goddesses that what Link had dreamt would never happen. Her sleep that night was a restless one, filled with the dread of what would happen if the dream was to come true…


	3. Chapter 2: The Unknown Arrival

**Chapter Two**

**The Unknown Arrival**

Several weeks had passed since the nightmares and Zelda noticed that Links mood had improved immensely, almost to the point where he had forgotten about them altogether. The day after the second dream, she had told Impa about it and together they had researched the Book of Mudora to see if it had any insight into the dream.

"There is no such reference to what Link had dreamt." Impa began as she scanned the pages. She stopped and pointed to a paragraph on one of the pages. "The closest thing I can find is this…" she read as she started to read aloud the passage that she had found...

"…_and the Hero of Time shall be joined by three. One of evil, who will be his enemy continually., One of Wisdom, who will forever by bound to the Hero, and one in which the fate of the rest shall be forever intertwined. Together, all will battle, two will fall, two shall rise, and one their sought revenge find._

_A wish made shall undo the past as the wishers dreams shall come to pass.…"_

Zelda had not told Link about what Impa and her had found in the book or that she was worried about him. She understood the part of the Hero of Time and guessed that the _One of Wisdom_ that was spoken of might by her. The part that she worried about was when the book spoke on how "two will fall". In his dream, the man spoke of how he had killed her. She shuddered slightly as if a cold breeze had just blown through a window. If Link was to find out what was written in the Book of Mudora and connect that to his dream, he would never leave her side again, not that she would mind that. It was just that he already bothered himself enough always helping her out with problems and most everything in her life.

She sometimes found herself yelling at him to quit worrying and let her solve some of her own problems. After every fight though, her love for Link would force its way to the surface, and she would run to find him to apologize. Usually she found him as he would be looking for her to apologize as well for being too involved with her life. She smiled at how deep their love for each other went. He was more than just a caring husband to her; she was only person in her life that she trusted with all of her worries except for this one. She would not tell Link of what she had found in the Book of Mudora for she feared if she did, Link would create a fortress of protection around her, and they would never have a moment alone again…ever.

She stared up at the heavens, watching as the clouds slowly meandered across the sky and remembered how she was sitting in the garden where Link had first met her when they were children. Link had somehow snuck his way into the castle and had found her as she was spying on Ganondorf. She had been startled at first but then found a common bond between them and she had asked him to help her with her plans to save Hyrule from Ganondorf. Link had then embarked on a quest to find the three spiritual stones so he could retrieve the master sword and banish Ganondorf to the Sacred Realm. He had gone through countless perils and had injured himself in almost everyway imaginable, all to save Hyrule and its people, people who would have no remembrance of it after all was said and done.

She turned her attentions away from those memories of her past and instead focused on the garden, trying to dissolve away her thoughts and cares. The flowers were just beginning to blossom. She sighed staring at the beauty that was her and Link's special spot. Her cares melted away as the beauty consumed her thoughts…

"Excuse me, princess, the king is waiting for you."

Zelda was startled by the sudden interruption in her daydreaming.

"Ohh, what? I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention…" Zelda said sheepishly to the servant who was now feeling guilty for interrupting the princess in the middle of her thoughts.

"The King is waiting for you. Link is already in the throne room waiting for you as well. He said there was something that you would like to see."

"Thank you; tell him I'll be right in." The servant turned around and walked off towards the throne room. What was so special that her father had sent a servant out to find her when there was nothing planned for that day? She released that thought and decided she had better get going soon; she didn't want to have Link wait around for her but then again… If he knew that he would have to wait for her to arrive before her father would tell him, he would be driven insane with the wait.

"Maybe I should stall just a little and see what his reaction is." she said smiling to herself. She thought of Link pacing around the room, waiting in anticipation and annoyance at the delay. He hated waiting. She laughed at the thought…yes; she would wait a few minutes since Link always looked cute when he was impatient.

* * *

A few minutes later she entered the large throne room. As she entered, she smiled as she saw that Link was looking incredible annoyed and was pacing back and forth asking the king where Zelda was; just as she thought he would do. She started to laugh but caught herself so she could catch Link by surprise who had still not noticed her. She noticed that her father was wearing the most regal of attire. Strange, she wondered…he never dressed this formal except for when he would entertain the royalty of Hyrule's neighboring kingdoms. She quickly looked at Link again and was relieved to find him in his normal dress, his green tunic and cap. She let out a sigh of relief and walked up to the throne, the gentle tapping of her heels echoing across the hall. The sound caught the attention of Link who looked over to Zelda in both surprise and annoyance…

"Finally, you're here. I was wondering where you were," Link said as he walked quickly to Zelda and gave her a quick hug and a kiss. "The servant said you were just leaving the garden and that was over 15 minutes ago. I was going to go out to look for you…"

Zelda put her hand to his lips and smiled mischievously. "Link, don't you realize that you look so charming when you're worried."

Link smiled when he realized what she had done. "So that is what delayed you." Link asked. "Well, maybe next time the king decides to have us attend a meeting I should just stay in our room for an hour and let you wait for me."

Zelda gave Link a sharp poke to his side. He flinched a little. "What was that for…" he asked with a fake expression of hurt on his face.

"A good husband must never keep his wife waiting, its common law didn't you know?" They both laughed at that and walked back up to where Hyrule, the current king of the lands was sitting.

Looking a little annoyed at the delay the king interrupted the pair, "Ahh, Zelda, nice of you to join us finally. It may be good to keep the husband waiting, but you know it is not good to keep the king waiting" he said as he walked up to Zelda and gave her a hug.

"Yes, that's true," Zelda said, "Although, since I'm your daughter I can do whatever I want." She said as she hugged her father again.

Hyrule chuckled, "Well I guess you are right, although I think we have both kept Link waiting long enough and a Hero usually the one who we both wait for." They both glanced at Link who was tapping his foot in exasperation as Zelda and the king laughed.

"I think it is time for both of you to know what this surprise is." Link looked relieved to see that his waiting was almost down with. The king hurried on, "While you too were off wandering about Hyrule yesterday, the guards found a man wandering about the castle garden yesterday armed with a sword and dressed in chain mail. He said he was looking for you two and had an urgent message he wanted to relay to you." Link looked on a little bewildered while Zelda cocked her head to the side wondering why she wasn't told of this sooner.

"What were his intentions?" Link quickly asked, "What business did he have concerning us?"

"He didn't say what his intentions were. When he heard that you were off visiting friends he simply said 'thanks, then I'll guess I will have to come by again tomorrow…" Hyule could tell that they were both confused about what was going on. Link furrowed his brow, deep in thought, wondering who this new visitor was who needed to speak to him and Zelda.

"I'm hoping that you arrested him or at least questioned him about all this." Link asked hoping to talk to this man personally.

The king simply stared at the two of them. "No, the guards didn't detain him. Before they could arrest him for trespassing he had disappeared in a flash of light. They didn't have time to ask about his intentions and the only description the guards have of him is that he seemed troubled about something. I ordered a search of the entire castle for him and only found this note nailed to the main gates addressed to both of you. Hyrule held up a piece of paper which Link quickly grabbed and read what was written. With a look of shear bewilderment, he handed the paper to Zelda who took it and read it aloud…

"It is my sincere regret to have missed you and Zelda yesterday. I have a message of great urgency that I wish to speak to you about and have traveled very far to give to you. A message about a threat that might soon be visiting your land of Hyrule…one that could utterly destroy everything that you know and love. I will be expected to meet with you tomorrow. I cannot afford any more delays. I do not want to have to search for you…"

Who was this man who needed to urgently meet with them and what was this threat that he spoke of. Link was still perplexed as to what this message meant. If he had such an important message for them, why did he randomly disappear and not wait around for a meeting between the three of them? Link couldn't make sense of any of this…

"Do you have any clues on when this person will be arriving?" Link asked the king in a somewhat anxious tone. If he was going to come again today as the letter had stated, he could appear anytime and since the guards said he was armed and seemed to be troubled, Link wanted to know if this person meant them any harm.

"No, I'm sorry to say we don't. We have had no reports of anybody seeing a man matching his description since he disappeared yesterday. The only clue that we have receive thus far is this letter and by the looks of it…"

All three were suddenly blinded by a bright flash that filled the entire throne room. Link was the first to recover and saw a man standing in the center of the room. He was slightly shorter than Link and wore a standard pair of brown pants and a blue tunic over the top of what appeared to be a chain mail vest. He had short tussled brown hair, not much unlike Links. It was the strangers blue eyes however that unsettled Link the most. They were filled with an urgency and panic that could only come from something that had caused much pain in this person's life. Link could tell just by how this man was dressed and how he held himself that he was a trained warrior. One who was trained in delivering death. Link quickly drew his sword. He motioned for Zelda to stand back, in case this stranger decided to do anything rash. The intruder watched as Link drew his sword. He raised his hand in the air and Link watched as some sort of orb had started to appear in his hands. Link wasted no time and charged at the man. Whatever he was doing, he wouldn't finish it. The king ordered his guards forward and they joined Link, charging the intruder in their midst.

Twenty feet away from the stranger Link felt a tingling sensation start to ripple through his body and collided with something in front of him. He felt a jolt of pain shoot through his body and was blown backwards, skidding on his back. He got back up, shaking his head as he did and saw that the same thing had happened to the other guards. Some of them however, were knocked unconscious when they hit the walls of the throne room after they were blown backwards by this strange barrier that protected this stranger. Link cautiously walked forward this time. He charged his sword with energy hoping to destroy whatever barrier was between him and the intruder. The stranger, watched Link, started forward with a look of concern on his face and spoke something that Link couldn't hear. Link let loose the energy and performed a spin attack, hitting the barrier with as much force as he could.

When his sword came in contact with the barrier, he felt a more powerful shock than before. He felt as his muscles seized up and as he was flung backwards with far more force, knocking his shield and sword out of his hands and causing him to slid all the way back to the throne, finally stopping at Zelda's feet. The guards who had finally recovered from the initial shock jumped forward and attacked again, only to have the same fate befall them. Several dropped to the floor unconscious, knocked out by seemingly impenetrable barrier. Zelda and the King were now starting to become worried. If Link and the guards were having this much trouble with this man, how much did they have to fear from him…

"You won't be able to penetrate this field, Link. Please for your own sake, stop attacking," the stranger said in a concerned tone as he walked forward towards Link.

Link watched in astonishment as the stranger took off his sword and shield, placed them on the ground and slid them off to the side of the throne room and when was within a few feet of Link, offered his hand to help him up.

Link was surprised by this sudden show of benevolence; however, the urge to defeat this threat to his wife and father in law was stronger than reason at this point. He quickly leapt at the man, tackling him to the ground. Link tried to grab the intruder's arms to hold him down but before he could, he felt as pain shot through his body again. He shot backwards, hitting the wall behind the throne with a sickening crunch and crumpled to the floor. Zelda ran to where Link lay crumpled in a heap on the floor. A look of shock passed on the intruders face and Hyrule heard him whisper "Oh no…what have I done…"

The stranger ran up to where Link lay, and right next to Zelda who was in complete hysteria now, trying to shake the unconscious Link awake. When she noticed the stranger holding out his hand towards her husband, energy starting to form in it like before, Zelda grabbed the mans arm and then punched him as hard as she could, knocking him backwards.

"Murderer! You killed him! You killed my husband! I don't care what message you have to say, you will die for what you just did!" She screamed in pure anger towards the stranger who was now backing away from her. Zelda was completely past reason as she grabbed Link's sword and started towards the intruder, swinging madly at him. She had been trained with swords by Impa and knew how to handle them, but with the trauma of the past few minutes, she had forgotten all of it. The stranger quickly dodged Zelda's blows, stunned at the ferocity of her attacks. Between swings, the stranger grabbed the sword out of Zelda's hand. He held up his hand again and Zelda felt her body go numb. The stranger, who was now out of breath from the exertion of dodging Zelda's madness, tried to calm her between gasps of breaths.

"I did not come here… to murder anyone princess... Look over to Link now; you will see that I did not murder him as you had accused me of."

As Zelda turned, she saw the stranger walk towards Link, holding out his hand to Links chest. The same orb of energy she saw earlier appeared. She watched in horror as it started to grow larger, completely engulfing Link's body. The stranger backed away, looking completely exhausted by what he had just done.

Zelda heard a noise and saw that Link was moaning. She felt her body being released from what held her and she ran towards Link. Link moaned again and tried to get up into a sitting position. Zelda quickly helped Link up and placed him in a chair next to the throne.

"He is alright Zelda…he will just have an incredibly bad headache for the rest of the day. Now please; listen to me before attacking me again. My name is Cimar and I have come from the kingdom of Turalis to warn you of a terrible fate that is heading towards Hyrule even as we speak."

Zelda nodded her head slightly; still shocked at everything that had just happened.

* * *

After it appeared that Link had recovered, Cimar began apologizing to Link and The guards who had finally gotten back to their feet and were told of what Cimar was there for. They seemed to welcome the fact that he was a friend or at the least non-threatening, since they were not looking forward to fighting with him again at the moment. After a few brief introductions Cimar formally introduced himself as Cimar, head of the Royal Knights of Turalis. The king introduced himself as King Hyrule VII, with his daughter Zelda and her husband Link, captain of the king's guard and Acting General of the Hylian army. Cimar with an urgent expression on his face, asked for permission to deliver the message he was carrying and when the king waved his hand for him to start, he did so without pause or delay… 


	4. Chapter 3: Unbelievable

**Chapter 3**

**Unbelievable**

The sun had already set behind the mountains long before Cimar finished his message and story that he came to deliver. It had taken two hours for Cimar to explain why he had come to Hyrule and it seemed so unreal yet was believable beyond measure. Cimar said that he had come from the town of Turalis, far to the west of even the Gerudo Desert. He was one of the elite castle guards in charge of protecting an incredibly sacred artifact to his nation, a relic his people called the Ameon. The relic had been found by the first people to settle Turalis many generations ago and they had protected it ever since. The kingdom that was north of Turalis heard about this artifact and had many times tried to seize it by force, each time meeting in defeat. This last time however, they had a new general in charge of their army, a man called Knilkrad who was rumored to be ruthless in battle and took no prisoners.

They attacked the city and castle at night during a terrible storm, burning both to the ground. Nearing the end of the battle taking place within the castle, Cimar was ordered by the king to hide the Ameon that he was ordered to protect and flee the castle with it to keep it out of their enemies grasp. However, as soon as he had touched the relic, it had started to glow. Its aura grew and surrounded Cimar until it had consumed his entire body. When he awoke, he found himself lying on a hill about a mile away from the Turalis, if you could even called what remained his home. The entire city and castle had been destroyed. Nothing remained except for the burnt, crumbling remains of his former home.

He had crept back into the remains of the city during the night, hoping to find out what had happened to his family to see if they escaped the slaughter but instead found himself outside a group of soldiers talking about the battle. During their conversation, he heard them speak of a kingdom, far to the east which had a relic that the general was now seeking to make up for the loss of the Ameon. Once he heard what they were planning for this other kingdom called Hyrule, Cimar had decided to prevent what had happened to his beloved Turalis from happening in this land of Hyrule.

He had stolen a horse from one of the soldiers and started heading east as fast as he could. That was over a month ago. His horse had died two weeks ago of exhaustion, just as he arrived at a vast desert. Cimar recounted that after walking across the desert, he was attacked by a group of women who lived in a nearby fortress and had barely made it out alive a week ago. He had collapsed near what appeared to be a ranch and was found by a young woman named Malon who treated him and brought him back to health. With that his feelings of sadness seemed to disappear and Link noticed that he was smiling.

"She was quite a charming young lady and helped me out a lot. She said that I was at Lon Lon Ranch, just outside of Hyrule and was willing to give me a ride into town. She told me all about Hyrule, and seemed to talk about you two quite often, especially you Link." Link blushed slightly hoping that Malon hadn't told him _everything_ about him and looked at Zelda, who was smiling mischievously at Link which made him blush even more. They both turned their attention back towards Cimar who continued his story.

"I thanked Malon for the ride after arriving at this castle yesterday. I tried to sneak in to find you so I wouldn't be noticed but was found out. I asked about seeking the three of you but was told you were not there. When I tried to leave the guards tried to surround me so I used a little magic to escape." With that, the room was filled with light and Cimar disappeared. They heard another sound and a flash off to their right where Cimar had magically re-appeared.

"So that is why the guards were not able to catch you yesterday," inserted Hyrule.

"Yes, that is the reason why I was able to escape from the castle. I'm sorry for any disturbance I might have caused you yesterday and today. I really didn't mean to hurt anyone." Cimar lowered his head out of shame for what he had done to Link and the guards. King Hyrule laughed when he saw Cimar's embarrassment which surprised both, Zelda, Link and even Cimar, who looked up with surprise clearly written on his face.

"Don't be ashamed of that Cimar. If I were you I would have done the exact same thing," started Hyrule. "Traveling a month straight, with meager supplies, riding towards a destination that might not even exist to relay a message of such urgency and importance, only to find that the people that you were looking for are gone. I don't blame you for your actions at all! Although Link might want to claim a bit of revenge after what you did to him. I'm guessing that the barrier that you had made was with the help of your magic?"

Cimar nodded his head. "I have just started using magic. I didn't have this power back in Turalis since nobody had any magical powers that I knew of. After I touched the Ameon though…I have felt an extra power flowing through my veins. I have tried experimenting with it, figuring out how much power the Ameon has given me. It's both a blessing and a curse though…if I use too much of it, it will drain me of my energy and if I don't use it, it builds and builds until I have to release it."

"That is a blessing and a curse that you, Zelda and I share then." Link interrupted, "We all have been granted some magical abilities through the power of the triforce that both Zelda and I hold." At the mention of the triforce, Link held up his hand with the back facing Cimar. Cimar noticed a small golden triangle that had begun to glow on Links hand. Was this part of the triforce that the evil general was seeking? Noticing that he was somewhat gaping at Link, he quickly tried to change the subject.

"I would adventure a guess that was what helped with the attack you performed earlier then?" Cimar asked.

"Yes, that technique is a special one that I have learned and perfected. If you want, I could teach it to you, for the small price of you teaching me how to throw people around like you did and practice it on you." Link grinned. Cimar nodded that he could and then gave a quick smirk.

"I think that was a mistake on your part. The shield that I created not only blocks attacks, but sends the energy back at the person who attacked. Attacks that use magic only increase the amount of energy reflected by ten fold. I was afraid that you would not survive but was thankful that you did. I did not want to injure you to the extent that I did. I merely wanted to stop your attacks to try and explain the situation. When you tackled me though, I lost control of how much I was using and used a little too much. I'm sorry if I have hurt you or your wife. I'm still trying to control this newfound power."

Zelda smiled impishly," You should have seen Link when he first started using the spin attack." Link started flushing a bright shade of crimson. "He used too much and started to spin around uncontrollably until he knocked himself out by running into a tree." Link poked his wife in the side, causing her to twist at the sudden discomfort.

"What did I say, have I embarrassed you before our guest?"

"If you want to play that game then, you should have seen what happened when Zelda tried to cook for Hyrule and myself using magic. The kitchen looked like it had been hit by a rampaging deku scrub."

It was Zelda's turn to turn crimson this time. She slapped Link on the back of his head, causing him to wince from the pain of what had happened earlier.

Cimar began to laugh at the scene before him. Link and Zelda had started to argue about who had done what and who had caused the most trouble trying out new ways of using their abilities. The king was sitting on his throne shaking his head and laughing at the silliness of the argument. It reminded him of the times his brothers would poke fun at each other, he started to think about what his family was doing right now…his family... All of his memories flooded back into his mind that he had suppressed over the last month. Cimar began to tremble, and even with all of his training as Turalis' Chief Guard, he couldn't contain the emotions that were breaching the wall he had created to destroy the memories from a month ago. A single tear started to trickle down his face…

Zelda was the first to notice the change in Cimar. He was starting to tremble; his face started glistening with the first signs of tears. She motioned at her father and Link who now were both watching the scene taking place before them. Hyrule was the first to speak…

"Cimar, I can tell that you have been under a great deal of stress and that you are trying to deal with the destruction of all that you have known. You have had your friends slaughtered, your kingdom destroyed, and all that you have held deal violently taken away from you." Cimar tried to regain his composure and looked back up at the king. His face was reddened and tear stained from the memories he was again trying to suppress. Hyrule continued, "We can not bring back your family or your friends. Any help we could send to Turalis is by now too late to help anybody who survived. We can help you with one thing though…"

Cimar looked down at the floor, understanding that he cold never bring back Turalis. He again started to quiver at the emotions that were again starting to break through his self control. The king repeated his last sentence to Cimar.

"I would hope that you would accept the only offer that we can give you. With the information you have given us we are forever in your debt. As the king of Hyrule I can offer you anything that might help you. However, this is the offer I present to you. Would you like to start your life anew in Hyrule Castle? I will offer you all the accommodations and accessories that you need to restart your life here. I know it can never replace the home you had or the friends that were taken from you, but, I hope that this could help you with your terrible loss. Would you like to join us and become an honorary knight of Hyrule?"

Cimar was taken aback by the offer. For several minutes, no words could escape from his mouth. Zelda, noticing the shock on Cimar's face interrupted the silence.

"I believe that a yes would be best choice of answer on this occasion."

Hearing what Zelda said, Cimar stood at attention before King Hyrule, Link and Zelda.

"Sir, I am honored by your graciousness. As the head of the Royal Knights of Turalis, I accept your most generous offer."

"Good. I expect that you are tired and hungry from your journey to Hyrule. I will have the servants prepare something for you and find a room that you can house in until we find more suitable accommodations." replied the king.

"Thank you, but I think I would just like some rest right now. The people at the ranch fed me quite well."

"There is an open room across the hall from where Link and I reside, you can stay there if you like. It is the guest chambers for when visiting dignitaries come to Hyrule, I'm sure that they will be to your liking."

"Thank you Zelda for your hospitality."

With all of the details finalized, Link and Zelda led Cimar to where he would be staying for the night. As soon as they had left, the king's expression changed to one of joy to one of deep thought. He called for a servant to tell his top generals about an emergency meeting that would take place tomorrow. If what Cimar had said was true, Hyrule would need to be prepared for whatever lay ahead.

**This was a fun chapter to write since created new places is fun to do. Don't forget to leave reviews if you would like.**


	5. Chapter 4: Old Friends and New

**Chapter 4**

**Old Friends and New**

Cimar slept like a baby in the luxurious bed that had been provided for him. The sun was just creeping over the eastern hills, but his military instincts had awakened him almost an hour ago. In that time he just laid on the bed, going over everything that had happened to him in his journey to Hyrule. It had been the first time in what seemed like an age that he had slept without any fear for of what would happen tomorrow or thinking on how he would find food for the following day. He felt like he was finally at peace. He had gone from traveling non-stop, having to deal with hunger, thirst, exhaustion and thieves to resting peacefully in the castle of a land where he was initially greeted with attempts to arrest him. He remembered the girl from the ranch who had found him when he had finally collapsed from his exhaustion so close to his goal. He was wondering if he could ask to visit her again when there was a knock at his door. After calling that they could come in, Link and Zelda walked into the room. Link was wearing what seemed to be the exact same clothes from yesterday, his green tunic and hat. Cimar stared at him for a second and started to wonder if he had anything else to wear besides that but was interrupted when Link addressed him.

"You should get dressed; we have a lot to go over today. The king believed that you should get to know the lands of Hyrule so I thought that I would show you around. Also, I have a pair of clothes for you so that you don't have to wear your armor everywhere we go today. I don't believe that you would be comfortable going to the places we are heading."

With that, Link threw a set of clothes that he had been holding to Cimar. As he unfolded them Cimar noticed something about them. They looked to be about the same as what Link was wearing.

"The cooks have made an excellent meal today which I'm sure you will want to attend. After that, Link will find a horse for you so you can start on your tour of Hyrule." Zelda added. "We will be waiting for you just outside your door for you to get dressed.

* * *

The pair left, leaving Cimar to himself. He quickly got dressed and met them outside. Zelda was not lying when she said that the cooks had prepared a feast. Every type of food he had ever eaten for breakfast lined the table. He started sampling one of everything. He hadn't eaten like this in a month and he gorged himself. Link had commented that if he ate too much, they wouldn't be able to find a horse big enough to hold him even though Link was eating almost as much as Cimar was. After the meal, Link led Cimar out to the stables to find a horse for him. Cimar chose a white mare and began to saddle her when he heard a soothing melody floating through the air. He watched as a horse at the far end of the stables trotted up to Link who was holding a small ocarina in his hands. Cimar scratched his head since he had never seen anyone call a horse to them with any type of instrument before and he asked Link how he did that. Link explained to him how the song he just played held a connection between Epona, his horse and himself and that he had been taught it by Malon many years ago. The same Malon who had rescued him a week ago. Cimar secretly hoped that part of the tour would include visiting the ranch where Malon worked. He wanted to thank her for saving his life.

They walked their horses through Castle Town, talking to some of the local shop keepers and introducing Cimar to some of them and people that Link knew. It seemed like everybody was stopping to say a friendly hello to Link, thanking him for a service that he had done for them or how he had helped them in this way or that. Cimar was surprised by this. He hadn't known anybody in the castle back in Turalis who was this welcomed by the people besides himself and the guards who had family outside the castle. Usually people just made passing glancing at the people in the castle before going back to whatever they were doing. After walking across the gate, leading out of the town, they mounted their horses. Cimar asked why everybody seemed to know Link and why they were thanking him endlessly for things that he had done. Link explained that even though he lived at the castle, he didn't feel comfortable there, and would usually spend most of the time out with the friends that he had made before he married Zelda.

"So, where are we off to first, you said that you wanted to show me around Hyrule." Cimar asked hoping that the answer would be the ranch where Malon lived.

"Well, I thought that you would like to visit the place where I come from and was visiting when you first came to the castle yesterday. Almost no one knows about it and the few people who do almost never visit besides Zelda and myself."

Link clicked at Epona and with a loud "Hee-yah", started her at a gallop towards the south-east. Cimar quickly followed after him and found that in order to keep up with Epona and Link he had to have his horse run at a full gallop. After a couple of minutes, they arrived at the entrance of a large forest. Cimar wondered what kind of town could fit in there since the trees stood almost side by side, creating a wall with their trunks. Link jumped off Epona and motioned for Cimar to follow him.

"What about the horses, are we just leaving them here?" Cimar asked, wondering why they would leave their horses alone and without tying them to anything.

"They will be fine; I've done this hundreds of times. Epona always waits for when I return and your horse is trained to stay near her. Luckily you picked out Zelda's horse for this trip; otherwise I wouldn't be sure your horse would stay by Epona." Link chuckled as he saw Cimar's face drop in surprise.

Cimar froze in shock…he had taken the princess's horse… He hoped she would understand that he didn't mean to. He looked up at Link but noticed Link was gone, already having entered the forest. Cimar dashed off after him, cursing himself for not paying more attention.

Link was waiting for him just inside for Cimar to catch up to him. He warned him that if he became lost in the woods that he might not find his way back out. With Cimar following him more closely, Link led him through a path and across a bridge into a clearing in the forest. Sunlight flowed down from above and Cimar had to squint to see clearly. When his vision cleared enough, he saw a bunch of houses in what appeared to be tree trunks. Tiny men and women, looking no older than children were walking around, cleaning or chatting with one another. One of the children when he saw Link and Cimar frowned and walked over to where they were standing.

"Link, you know that you shouldn't be bringing visitors here. I think bringing in all the riff raff that you see into our village is destroying it." With that, he turned around and walked off. Cimar stood there stumped to why Link would like this place so much if it was filled with people like that. Link explained to him that was Mido, the leader of the Kokiri. He was almost always in a bad mood about something and seemed to take it out on Link and told him to just ignore him. Link led Cimar to a tree house and said that he needed to get a few things as he climbed up the ladder and disappeared inside the house.

Cimar noticed that he was getting some odd stares from some of the people who lived here. He was starting to feel uncomfortable under the stares of these, children. He was relieved when Link re-appeared and jumped down beside him. Cimar asked him where all the parents of these kids were. The response he received only puzzled him more about this village and about who Link was. He was told that they were adults, most of them a lot older than either of them. They were the children of the forest, the Kokiri. The house he just come from was his when he was growing up in the village. He only used it now when Zelda and himself came to visit his friend Saria, who lived next door. They walked to the house that was next to his and Link knocked on the door. The door opened and a small girl appeared, her eyes brightening when she saw Link.

"Link, you came back to see me again. What is the occasion this time and where is Zelda, usually you both come in together…" She stopped when she noticed Cimar standing behind Link. "Oh, why didn't you tell me I was going to have a new visitor today? My name is Saria, what's yours?" she said, smiling at the newcomer.

"Cimar" he said, shuffling a little. The girl in front of him was making him uncomfortable, he didn't know why but she seemed to be too mature for someone so young…

"Come in, come in. Link you have some explaining to do you know, you can't just bring people here, you know Mido doesn't like it. He doesn't even like it when you bring Zelda here for visits." Saria led them to a table where the three of them sat down and then went to a side of the house that functioned as the kitchen and quickly returned with three slices of Kokiri pie.

"Now I'm pretty sure that you guys must be hungry after riding here. I made this yesterday after you left Link; I think it is still good."

Cimar stared at the food on his plate. He had eaten pie plenty of times, but had never seen one like this… It looked like it was made up of all types of different fruits and vegetables and virtually no crust. The material in the pie just seemed to stop where the crust should be... He looked over to see Link already taking a bite of his pie so he decided to try a bit of it for courtesies sake. He cut a piece off with his fork, eyed it quickly and took a bite. He did not regret his decision one bit. The pie melted in his mouth and tasted of fresh apples. He quickly took another bite and another, quickly downing the entire slice.

"Wow, and I thought that Link was a fast eater…" Saria said as she grinned and cut another piece of pie for Cimar.

Cimar gladly accepted the second piece and wolfed it down as quickly as he had eaten his first. Saria cocked her head to one side and looked at him. "I'm guessing a third slice would be in order then?"

"Yes, thank you." He said as she cut him another slice. "This has to be one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten…what is the recipe for it?"

Saria grinned mischievously, "If I told you, you probably wouldn't be asking for a third slice." She laughed, while Cimar looked at Link who was just about to take another bite of his pie. He held his fork before his mouth for a second, staring at the pie in front of him, before popping it in his mouth.

"Do you know what is in it?" Cimar asked eyeing Link.

"Of course I do. Saria just likes to say that to everyone that eats some of her Kokiri pies. Usually if the person asks she says something like deku scrub snouts and ground up frog legs. You should have seen the look on Zelda's face when Saria told her that." Both Link and Saria laughed at their shared memory while Cimar again eyed his pie, making sure that there were no bits of deku scrubs in it.

After the pie was gone, Link introduced Cimar to Saria who seemed interested in what the occasion was that Link brought a visitor to the forest. Cimar leaned forward, and sighed a quiet, little sigh. "Would you really like to know about you I am and where I came from?" he asked, almost sounding like he was pleading her not to ask.

"Yes, I would like to know. I don't think I would like it if Link had started bringing in homeless vagabonds into my house now would I?" Saria said, smiling at Link.

Cimar instantly tensed up and Link looked at Saria with a now-why-did-you-have-to-say-that, look. Saria looked back at Cimar, regretting what she had said. "I'm sorry for my comment, I didn't mean…"

"It's not a problem" Cimar responded. "I don't exactly fit that description but I come pretty close. I guess I should explain a little. I came from the kingdom of Turalis, one that is…was, far to the west of here. It was completely destroyed, everyone killed that I know of besides myself. I was only spared by an accident that I still can't completely understand myself. The only reason why I am here is because the person who destroyed Turalis was heading towards the land of Hyrule to the east. I got here as quickly as I could to warn the king of this land."

Saria looked down at ground for a second, still a bit embarrassed over her comment. She looked back up, "Thank you for coming then. Feel free to stop by at my house anytime. You are always welcomed here." She looked up, smiling at Cimar, "on one condition…"

"And what would that be?" Cimar asked.

"If this evil invades the land, you have to help Link in defeating it. Even with being the Hero of Time he will need some help in this threat." Saria broke into a grin as well as Cimar. "No problem there, I owe that despicable creature back anyways and not to judge your abilities Link, but I think even a hero would need help if he comes."

"No quarrels here. What can I say, being the hero of Hyrule has its disadvantages and I would appreciate all the help I could get." Saria giggled at the statement. It was true; almost everyone in Hyrule looked up to Link as the Hero who had saved them from any threat, no matter how small and he almost never asked for help.

"If only more people helped him instead of thanking him for the help he gave them, then he might be able to visit the forest more often."

"That is about the same way people treated me back in Turalis."

Link and Saria looked over to Cimar when he said that with puzzled expressions. Cimar looked at them with a bewildered expression on his face, then realized that he hadn't yet told them about _all_ of his duties as the Head of the Royal Guards.

"Yeah, one of my jobs besides keeping the king and his family safe was to protect the city of Turalis and everyone in it. Every now and then a group of brigands or robbers would plunder and raze a house so I would be sent to defeat them bring back anything that was stolen. I usually had to go out once a month or so on these little trips. Now that Turalis is gone though…I no longer have any responsibilities. There are no more people to help, no more houses to rebuild, no more family to protect…" Cimar sighed and looked down at the table, remembering the people who he once knew…

Saria stood up and walked over to Cimar and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You might not be able to help Turalis any more, but there are plenty of people in Hyrule who have troubles of their own. Also, realize this one fact; even though your home is gone, you are always welcomed in my house." She gave Cimar a big hug which made him feel a lot better. "I also want to give you a piece of advice while you're here that is on a different subject…since you should be coming over here often, just ignore anything Mido says. He doesn't like anybody that is a friend of Link and I think that he is just jealous of the fact that you guys are just so much taller than he is."

Link, who was drinking his glass of milk, spit it out in a burst of laughter. Cimar and Saria laughed uncontrollably as they watched Link try to clean up the milk that he had spilt, all the while hearing Link mutter that it wasn't that funny…

The three talked and chatted a bit before Saria noticed that it was almost three in the afternoon. She asked if they were visiting anyone else that day before they would head back to the castle. Link replied that he had a special place that they were going and when Saria pressed him for the details, he wouldn't reveal anything.

"It better not be our secret spot Link." Saria crossed her arms and looked at Link with a hint of annoyance in her eyes.

"Don't worry, not even Zelda knows about that place. That will always be our spot. I'm just taking him to a place that I think he has been hoping to return to since he arrived in Hyrule" Link replied. Saria brightened up when Link said this while Cimar just looked at Link quizzically. What place had he been wanting to return to since he first arrived in Hyrule. He didn't even know where exactly he was right now, let alone any other place in this country. He decided that it would be best if he just waited for Link to show him where they were going…

As Link and Cimar walked out the door, Saria gave Link a hug and then walked over to where Cimar was standing. To his surprise, she gave him a hug as well. Cimar blushed slightly which caused Saria to giggle and got a chuckle out of Link.

Link said farewell and how he hoped that he could come back again in a few days with Zelda and how she would likely be mad with him over not bringing any pie with him back to the castle. They waved goodbye and started walking towards the exit of the village. As they were just about to leave, they heard someone yell at them to their left and saw a person jump in front of them.

"It's about time you guys left." It was Mido. They stopped as he walked up to them and started scowling.

"We don't welcome anyone who is an outsider. You better not be showing your face around here anymore stranger." Mido glared at Cimar, who to Mido's surprise started chuckling. He leaned down, facing Mido and started to poke him on the shoulders.

"Cut that out, don't you know you are poking," Mido said as he pushed Cimar's hand away from him. Cimar stood up and looked over to Link with a dejected look.

"I guess I can't use him as bait for the wolfos… I can't find a bit of meat on him. It's quite sad since back home we used to capture wolfos by tying small children to trees and waiting for the wolfos to hear their cries." Mido started to turn pale as Cimar continued. "I guess I could use you anyways, even if you are a bit scrawny. The wolfos never seem to mind what they eat…"

As he said this, he made to grab Mido; who jumped backwards and ran towards his house, slamming the door behind him. Cimar and Link started to laugh and left Kokiri Village to the sounds of Mido yelling at them from the safety of his house.

Link was still laughing when they exited the forest.

"I haven't seen Mido run like that in ages…not since I threw a rock at a hylian hornets nest and they drove him into the pond." Cimar cracked up when he imagined a nest full of bees chasing after Mido.

They rounded a corner and saw their horses, right where they left them. They mounted their horses and Cimar asked Link where their next destination was. All Link did was smile.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise now would it."

With that, Link kicked Epona and started her off on a gallop. Cimar kicked his own horse and quickly followed after Link, wondering what was in store for him…

* * *

Ten minutes later, Cimar finally was able to see their destination and broke into a wide grin. They had slowed their horses to a walk just as they were heading over a hill near the middle of Hyrule Field. Below them stood Lon Lon Ranch, the home of Malon, the person who saved him from death. He looked over to Link and saw him smiling as well.

"I told you that you would want this to be a surprise. I saw that look that was in your eyes when you spoke of Malon yesterday." Cimar's face flushed when he heard that. Was it that obvious? Shifting uncomfortably in his saddle under the grin from Link, Cimar kicked his horse and started galloping to the ranch.

"Race you to the ranch," he hollered as he sped away trying as much to beat Link to the ranch as trying to avoid the conversation.

Link smiled and whispered in Epona's ear. "We have been challenged to a race. I don't think you want to lose…"

Epona's ears twitched as she jumped to her hind legs sped off, chasing after Cimar who now had a good fifteen second head start. Link noticed that they caught up too quickly with him and were already passing him with a good half mile to go. He decided to make this a closer victory and slowed Epona slightly so that Cimar could be somewhat near him when he beat him. He owed him for the clobbering that Cimar had given him yesterday.

Link easily won the race to the ranch several yards ahead of Cimar, who was laughing so hard he had to clutch his stomach.

"That horse is something special isn't she." Cimar said as he slowed down to stop next to Link. "I have never seen a horse gallop that fast in all my life. Where did you find her?"

"She was born on this ranch a few years after I was born. I came here when I was seven and her and I have been together ever since." He patted her on her neck. "She's getting up their in age but she is still the fastest horse in Hyrule. He patted Epona on her neck and in response she grabbed his hat with her teeth and started to trot up the path to the ranch.

"Hey, give that back!" Link shouted as he ran after Epona.

Cimar looked on and shock his head. How this person was a Hero to Hyrule he would never understand. He thought about that for a second, and then made his decision.

"Oh well. Might as well have some fun," and with that he started to walk his horse up the hill towards the ranch.

**Hope you are enjoying the story so far.**


	6. Chapter 5: Life's Little Twists

**Chapter 5**

**Life's Little Twists**

If Link and Cimar were having fun, Zelda was having the complete opposite. Since she was the princess, she had to attend to the schedule laid out for her by Impa and her father. She sighed… Even with the events of yesterday still fresh in everyone's minds; they still had to ready the castle for a diplomatic visit from the neighboring kingdom of Calatia. She looked down at the people in front of her; the diplomatic party of Calatia had arrived a little over an hour ago and they were still talking. Even Link never spoke this long when he was excited about something. She watched the diplomat who was speaking now, since they had been taking turns describing this or that. This one looked to be around fifty and was a pudgy little man who had to large of ears for his head and too long of a nose that seemed possible for a man his size. He was completely bald except for a horrible come-over and his voice was so nasally it made him almost unbearable to listen to. She counted the hair that was left on the man's head to relieve the boredom of listening to this man but it didn't last long since after she reached 37 she couldn't find any more to count.

"….the lowering of the price of grain being imported to Calatia would be critical to the welfare of our country since that provides us with the strength to go on, delivering our goods to Hyrule. This economic standard that would regulate…"

He just kept on talking….

Her thoughts trailed to what Link was doing right now with Cimar. She frowned slightly; since Link had managed to get out of this meeting by saying he was taking Cimar on a tour of Hyrule so he could become familiar with his new home. She wished that he could have gone with him but her father said that she needed to represent the crown and needed to learn about how to govern. If this is what you got to do when you governed a kingdom, she wanted no part in it. Her childlike attitude about the whole deal made her father even more resolute that she needed to attend this meeting.

Her thoughts meandered as the man in front of her droned on and on, then strayed back to her husband. They had been married three years already and yet it had seemed like a mere blink of the eye. Her eyes started to close and she started to daydream about the time they first met when she felt a poke to her side. Startled a little, she sat back up and looked in the direction where the prod had come from and saw her father, pointing his finger towards the diplomat, not even making eye contact with her. She straightened and wondered how her father had noticed her dozing off…

She re-focused her attention on the man who hadn't even blinked at this slight interruption to his speech. Again, Zelda tried to focus but her thoughts continually strayed onto Link and Cimar and the fun they must be having. Link had said he would take him to see Saria today and she wished that she could have gone with him to visit her. She was such a gracious person, always going out of her way to make her feel at home in the forest, unlike Mido who now kept away from Zelda at all costs. The first time she saw Mido he started to heckle her and Link, after enduring a minute of what he was saying she picked him up by his shirt and threw him into the pond near Links house. She started to laugh, and then covered her mouth, eyes wide in embarrassment. The king broke his gaze from the speaker to look at his daughter, a quizzical expression on his face but also one that showed a bit of annoyance at another interruption. The speaker, noticing that he no longer had an audience, stopped speaking to look at Zelda and Hyrule with a puzzled expression clearly visible. The king broke the silence first.

"I think that we should take a rest from all this talk and we should reschedule the rest of this meeting to take place in three hours time. By then we should be ready to pay full attention to the important dealings between our two kingdoms." The king looked to Zelda, who re-focused her attention to the shoes that she was wearing, knowing that her father would want to speak with her after this. Even though she was 21 and had the added bonus of the triforce of wisdom, she still had a lot to learn about managing the kingdom.

"Why…um. Yes, your highness. We will meet with you at that time." The party left the throne room and as soon as they had gone, the king turned to Zelda.

"I'm beginning to think that your mind is on other matters at this time. I know a lot has happened yesterday but you need to learn how to focus on what is happening now. However, since it seems like are not capable at the present time to complete the duties of the princess of Hyrule…" He let the words hang in the air for a second before he continued.

"Therefore you will be allowed to skip the rest of the meeting later today. I believe that you would like to join Link and Cimar rather than listen to that man talk unceasingly," His stern appearance giving way to a grin as Zelda ran over and gave a big hug to her father saying thank you so many times as it was the only thing she could say in response to what he had said. The king chuckled at his daughter's reaction and he continued after Zelda finished hugging him. "Although, I will be expecting you to pay full attention next time we have an ambassador visit, no matter how dull he is." He smiled as Zelda left the throne room. As she left, Hyrule sighed, even though she was 21, she still acted like she was ten. It must be Link he thought for the millionth time as he began to wonder how he would stay awake in three hours time…

* * *

Zelda had finally been able to locate Impa. One of the guards told her that she went up to Rauru's study for a meeting. She walked up to his room and noticed the door was open and was able to hear what was being said inside.

"…this thing called the Ameon if what I studied is true only can bestow magical properties onto the wielder of it. However, there is a problem; the Ameon, when in the same area as all three pieces of the triforce, will absorb the power of the Triforce and give the wielder of the Ameon incredible endurance, wisdom and power. He would become unstoppable. The book of Mudora goes on further to say that once this happens, the wielder of the Ameon has to make a choice between which side he will serve, good or evil and once he or she has made that choice, their mission in life is to destroy all that threaten the side they choose.…"

Rauru stopped and looked at Zelda who was standing in the doorway. Impa turned around to see the reason why Rauru had stopped. She looked annoyed at this sudden intrusion. Zelda got over the initial embarrassment and asked Impa if she could leave to find where Link and Cimar had gone.

Impa told her that she was in an important meeting discussing what had happened yesterday, however, Zelda pleaded with her, saying that if she didn't take her then she would order her to anyways. Impa sighed and asked where Link had gone. She responded that they were first going to Saria's but were probably heading off to Lon Lon Ranch for Cimar since it was apparent he wanted to visit with Malon.

"Well, they probably aren't at Saria's judging by what time it is. Let's start towards Lon Lon Ranch and see if we can find them. By the way, aren't you supposed to be in a meeting now with the representatives from Calatia?"

"I managed to get out of it," Zelda said with a smile as she rocked back and forth on her toes.

Impa sighed, "Ok, go to the stables and ready your horse; I'll be down in a few minutes."

"Thank you Impa." Zelda curtsied and left the room smiling to herself. Link was always surprising her with something, now it was her turn to surprise him. Maybe she could beat him to the ranch…

As soon as Zelda left, Impa sighed and shook her head.

"And I thought that marriage would calm her down a little…it looks likes when Link and her married, they have become even more troublesome…"

Rauru laughed. "They are a young couple and they are filled with the joys of life. Let them enjoy each other after all that is what marriage is about isn't it? We can finish our conversation later. We are in no rush at the moment; take care of the princess since with everything happening around here, who knows what could happen next..." Impa turned and walked out of the room as Rauru went back to studying the book of Mudora.

Zelda was already at the stables and had prepared Impa's horse as well as her own. She had found that her horse had been taken, most likely by Link to give to Cimar since it was the only horse that could even try to keep up with Epona. They crossed the castle gates and went out into Hyrule Field and when they were a few minutes away from the ranch, Zelda looked towards the forest and noticed two horses standing near the entrance that led to Kokiri Village. As she watched, she noticed two figures coming out of the woods. If they hurried they could make it to the ranch before them and surprise them. She told her plan to Impa and they urged their horses into a gallop. After reaching the ranch, Zelda looked back to see where Link and Cimar were. She couldn't see them but saw the dust that was left behind from their horses. They looked around five minutes from the ranch. Zelda walked her horse up the trail to the ranch followed closely by Impa. As they rounded the corner they saw Malon, walking into the barn.

"Surprise!" Malon turned to where the noise had come from and saw Zelda and Impa walking towards her.

'Zelda, it's so good to see you! I'm glad that you could come and visit. What is the occasion?" Malon asked as Zelda dismounted her horse and hugged her friend. Zelda told her about what she was planning to surprise Link since he should be arriving anytime now. Malon grinned and said that she wanted to do something even better since Link had pulled a prank on her a few weeks ago. She laid out her plan to Zelda and the two smiled mischievously and turned to Impa. Impa sighed and put her hand to her head. Why had she ever signed up for this job…?

Malon quickly led their horses into the barn and had Zelda hide inside the barn with her and Impa hide inside the house. They had scarcely closed the doors when Link rounded the corner chasing after Epona. The horse stopped in front of the stable doors and Link managed to grab his hat away from her. Zelda watched from a knothole in the stables. This was going to be a great surprise, she thought as Link started walking Epona towards the stable doors and opened it. As he did, two buckets fell on him, one filled with water, the other with cucco feed. As they fell, the water soaked his clothing which caused the cucco feed to stick to him, covering him from head to toe in the feed. As he tried to spit out the seed that had gotten in his mouth, Impa opened the door to the house as over a dozen cuccos ran outside and started to peck at the seed covering Link.

* * *

Cimar rounded the last corner and stopped dead in his tracks at the scene in front of him. Link was covered in cucco feed and was being chased around the yard by over a dozen cuccos, brushing madly at his clothes to get the seed off while Zelda was standing next to the barn, laughing hysterically at the prank she had just played on her husband. Cimar dismounted his horse and walked up to Zelda who was clutching her stomach from laughing so hard.

"Did you do this?" he asked.

"Sort of." She said as she tried to calm herself a little. "It was Malon's idea really; I just came here to surprise Link." She pointed over to her left and Cimar saw Malon dumping a bucket of water onto Link to remove the last of the seed from him as Impa led the cuccos away from Link with another bucket of feed. Link had a sour look on his face and was vowing revenge at Malon for what she had just done. They walked towards the house and Link finally noticed Zelda. His demeanor changed instantly and he grinned wickedly.

"Zelda come here, I want to thank you for what you guys just did." He walked towards her with his arms extended out to give her a big hug.

"No you don't!" Zelda yelled as she started backing up, laughing as she did so knowing what he was planning. Link started to run at her as Zelda started to run backwards. She turned to turn to run faster, but skid to a stop just inches away from Epona, who was blocking her escape.

"I thought you liked hugs Zel." She heard as she turned around just in time for Link to give her a big hug, soaking her with his wet clothes. Cimar was laughing and didn't notice Malon walking towards him.

"I believe that we have met before haven't we?"

Cimar stopped mid-laugh and turned around. He looked at Malon who was staring at him, waiting for him to respond.

"I...uh…yeah…." he stammered. His tongue betrayed him at the moment he needed it the most. He couldn't find any words that he could speak as Malon cocked her head to the side and stared at him. Cimar noticed her hair had just caught the sun and was glistening like gold which caused him to become completely speechless, only managing to open and close his mouth like a fish out of water.

Malon smirked, "I guess that would be a yes then?"

Cimar simply nodded his head slowly trying to regain control over his rebellious tongue.

By this time Link and Zelda had started to walk over to where Cimar and Malon were standing. Link whispered something into Zelda's ear, which caused to her to choke down a laugh. He began the introduction for Cimar since it appeared that a cat had caught his tongue.

"Cimar, this is Malon, but I believe that you already knew that" Link started to say, "She and I go way back." Link and Zelda smiled as Cimar had somehow managed to recover the use of his mouth.

"Yes." He turned back to Malon, "I didn't really get to thank you for what you did for me two days ago. It was most kind of you." He bowed which caused Malon to laugh.

"You don't have to bow around here. Out here we just prefer a good handshake or a hug." Cimar blushed at the last option. Malon noticed it and laughed again. "What, are you afraid of a little ole hug?" she asked, smiling knowing that wasn't the reason why he was blushing. "Anyways, I'm glad that Link brought you back then. You see, not everyday I find a person laying unconscious on the ground and acting delirious. Usually the only people who even visit the ranch are customers or these two although they probably count as crazy," as she pointed to Zelda and Link who were both dripping wet.

Impa interrupted the conversation at this point.

"I'm sure that you guys have plenty to talk about and since you are here Link, I think that you can escort Zelda back to the castle. I will be heading back there now since I have a lot of work to do." She turned towards the barn, retrieved her horse and rode off down the hill towards the Castle.

They watched her leave and then started conversing again. The clouds had just started to cover the suns warming rays and Malon saw Zelda shiver slightly.

"I think you guys need to get out of those wet clothes and change into something that isn't soaked." Malon said as she watched Link wrap his arms around Zelda trying to warm her up just a little. "The extra clothes you brought last time are still in the spare room, you can change up there and then put your wet clothes next to the fireplace when you're done."

They walked into the house where they noticed that Talon was trying to help with lunch, although whatever he had in the oven was now smoking on the counter and was the color and texture of charcoal.

"What in tar nation, I followed those instructions and it still comes out burnt…" Malon walked over to the recipe that Talon was following. She noticed his mistake almost instantly.

"Dad that recipe says to bake for 25 minutes, not 45." She smiled at her father's innocent mistake as his eyes widened when he re-read the instructions.

"Ohhh….."

"It was a good try though although I think I should make lunch this time since we have quests now." Malon said as she pointed towards the door.

"Oh, guests." He turned around and saw Link, Zelda and Cimar standing near the door.

"Ahh, so you guys came back to visit again, eh? It's good to see ya again." He walked over and was about to give Link and Zelda big hugs but Link stopped him as he took off his hat and wrung water out of it like a sponge. Talon opted for a handshake instead. When he came to Cimar he stopped, scratching his chin trying to remember where he had seen him before. Cimar helped him out by introducing himself.

"My name is Cimar, I'm the one you guys saved a week ago and helped me get to Castle Town."

Talon's face lit up as he remembered him.

"It's good to see your still alive and kicking boy!" He roared as he grabbed him in a bear hug and picked him up off his feet. "I thought those guards would have arrested ya for sure!"

"You're crushing….my…lungs…" Cimar gasped as Talon dropped him back on the floor again.

"Oh, sorry about that…Anyways, it's good to see you. Lets sit down and chat for a while; I want ta hear more about ya."

Zelda and Link went upstairs to change out of their clothes while Malon started to cook lunch for them. Talon and Cimar sat at the table in the center of the room talking about what Cimar was going to do now that he would be staying in Hyrule.

"I thought that I would explore Hyrule a little before setting up anything substantial, maybe joining the castle guard or something."

Talon laughed, "The guards up at the castle need all the help they can get. I seem to recall that when Link was seven he was able to sneak in all by himself without getting caught. That boy was certainly a troublemaker back then and still is now."

They joked for a little while until Link and Zelda opened the door and came back downstairs. Zelda had changed into one of Malon's old orange dresses and white blouse since she couldn't find the clothes that she had left on her last visit while Link appeared wearing…his green tunic? Cimar looked at Link oddly.

"Is that the only type of clothes you own? A green tunic?"

"Not really, I also have a red one and a couple pairs of blue ones." Link said as everyone laughed besides Cimar. "It is just that they are comfortable and I've just worn one for most of my life, so I just decided not to break habit." Link said shrugging his shoulders and smiled.

"It is a habit I've been trying to break him on for the past five years. No matter what I buy him, he always makes some excuse up and wears that thing again, including this ridiculous hat," Zelda said as she flipped Link's hat to the ground. He grabbed it before it landed on the ground and looked sourly at his wife as he put it back on. She smiled and kissed him gently on the cheek then knocked his hat back to the floor.

"Lunch is ready." Malon yelled from the kitchen as Zelda walked over to the table and sat down while Link grabbed his hat, dusted it off and walked over to the table. Malon brought in the stew that she had made for all of them. Everyone quickly filled their bowls and started eating.

"This is delicious. What is in this soup," Cimar exclaimed in between bites.

"It's an old family recipe, it is a special beef and vegetable stew that only I know how to make. I'm glad you enjoy it," Malon said with a smile.

Link and Talon were eating the stew just as fast as Cimar was if not quicker.

Cimar quickly finished the rest of the stew in his bowl and grabbed another bowlful followed by Link and Talon. Zelda and Malon had stopped eating to watch the spectacle before them. They had seen this before, but it always amazed them that people could eat that fast. At the third bowlfuls of soup, the trio had finally started to slow down as Link leaned back and stretched.

"I don't know why I have been blessed with friends that know how to cook so well."

"You know, if you take me to any more of your friends today, my stomach is going to burst. Saria made such delicious pies and now this wonderful soup from Malon. I hope I can come back here many times over." Cimar added.

Zelda looked over at Cimar and then Link. Cimar realized what he had said and started to turn a deep red….

"Saria made you some of her Kokiri pie didn't she?" Zelda asked as she started to frown.

"Well, she sort of made it before we came…we just had a few slices before we came over here…" Link smiled tentatively. "We were going to save you a piece but it would have spoiled before we got back to the castle to give it to you…"

Zelda glared at Link who was now fidgeting under her stare. "You know, I think I had better help with the dishes" he said as he hastily got up from the table and started gathering the dishes and taking them to the kitchen.

Zelda's glare swiftly became a smile and everyone at the table started to laugh. As Link washed the dishes, the subject of the conversation turned to Cimar and Talon was the first to start asking questions.

"You never really did tell us why you here Cimar. For the few days you were here, all you really said was that you needed to get to Hyrule Castle and that was it. Where have you come from?"

Cimar began telling Talon and Malon about his life in Turalis and how it was shattered. He spoke about how he had accidentally claimed the Ameon and about how he had come to warn Hyrule of the danger approaching it. Cimar spared no details in telling the story like he had at the castle. He explained what Turalis had been like, the people, the friends and family he had as well as the destruction that had befallen his land and his journey to Hyrule. Everyone was entranced by the tale. Even Link had stopped cleaning the dishes and had brought up a chair to listen. Four hours had gone by when Cimar finally finished the story.

After he had finished, nobody spoke for a minute afterwards while they contemplated what he had said. It was Talon who interrupted the silence.

"I'm glad that were able to help you out then" Talon said as he shifted a little in his seat. "Well, Cimar, now that you have accomplished what you set out to Hyrule for and after you finish touring Hyrule, what are you going to do? You will need a job and there are plenty of openings here at the ranch. Would you be willing to come work here? We could provide a place for you to stay here if you like. I'm sure that being a guard at the castle wouldn't be all that great and if they ever needed you, your only 30 minutes away."

Cimar gave a thoughtful expression at the offer. If he accepted to live at the ranch, then he would be around Malon all day. He felt uncomfortable around her already and threw that idea away. Although, if he only worked at the ranch then maybe he could talk to her a little without feeling to intrusive into her life. He didn't want to offend Talon either by declining the offer. Cimar finally decided on what he would do.

"Would it be possible if I worked at the ranch, but lived at the castle? I don't want to intrude any more than I have in your lives than I already have. Also, would you mind if I could start in a week instead of tomorrow? I think there is a lot more in Hyrule that I haven't seen yet."

"That is perfectly fine. I guess that means we have a deal then." He reached over and shook Cimar's hand. Cimar looked over to where Malon was sitting and it was obvious that she wasn't thrilled about this deal. She returned his gaze with a cold stare which stilled Cimar's enthusiasm immediately. Malon broke off her gaze and looked over to Zelda.

"It is getting kind of late. The stalchilds will be coming out soon and I am sure you guys don't want to be locked out of the castle."

Zelda looked outside and saw that the sun was starting to set. They had about 45 minutes until the gates would be closed.

"Oh, I didn't realize what time it was. Link, Cimar, we had better get going."

Link nodded in agreement. The three stood up and thanked Talon and Malon for their hospitality. Link and Zelda grabbed their now dry clothes and started heading out the door. Talon told them that they would be welcomed back anytime and he was looking forward to having Cimar work at the ranch. Cimar shook Talons hand and then reached out to shake Malon's. She folded her arms across her chest and said a simple bow would do. Cimar did so and followed after Link and Zelda who were already out the door and closed it behind him. Talon turned to his daughter and asked her about her sudden coldness towards Cimar. She looked at him and gave him a stare.

"Maybe it was because you didn't ask me about this deal first. You shouldn't invite guys over to live with us without your daughter's permission you know," she said in a huff and walked upstairs. "Goodnight father." She opened the door to her bedroom and closed it behind her.

They three of them made it across the drawbridge and into Castle town with a few minutes of time to spare. They walked their horses into the castle stables and started walking back towards the castle. Cimar thanked Link for showing him around while Link shrugged it off, saying that tomorrow would be an even busier day so he should get plenty of rest. When they reached their rooms, Zelda and Link wished Cimar a good night and retired to their room.

Cimar walked into his room and sat on his bed, contemplating what had happened during the day. Specifically, he focused on how he was now going to be working at the ranch. All seemed to be going fine until he accepted the offer to work. Perhaps it had not been a good idea to accept to work there…

He sighed, and took off his boots to get ready for bed. He lay down on the bed, pushing all thoughts from his mind. Link said that he would be having a busy day tomorrow and he needed the rest. He closed his eyes and within minutes was asleep.

**Probably one of the most fun chapters to write just because of the description of the diplomat.**


	7. Chapter 6: The Threat Immerges

**Chapter 6**

**The Threat Immerges **

"I've been waiting for you Link; it's been a long time."

Link stood in a dark room, the only illumination being from a lone flickering candle at the far end across from him.

"I've been waiting for you…." repeated the sinister sounding voice.

Where had he heard that voice before he wondered? As his eyes became accustomed to the darkness, he saw a figure sitting at the far end of the room. He started to walk forward but found that with each step he took forward, the person seemed to move farther away.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

"You know what I want…" the man replied. Link was able to make out more of the features of the man. He had jet black hair and wore a tunic very similar to the one Link was wearing. He tried to make out the face but the man had his head facing the floor.

"I have been waiting a long time to meet you again. We have been separated far too long Link. I think it is time that we are reunited again…"

The figure vanished and appeared directly in front of Link frightening him a little as he stepped back a pace from the figure before him.

"You shouldn't be frightened of me Link, nobody should be afraid of themselves. Then again…maybe _you_ should be." The figure raised his head towards Link, his blood red eyes filled with hate. Link recognized the man in front of him as his blood went cold. "You will finally be able to suffer the consequences of what you did to me all those years ago. My master is coming as well as his general for your friend..." The figure smiled maliciously, grabbed the sword at his side and raised it above his head. His red eyes flickering with pure malice… "Tell him that I enjoyed the last time I met with his family…" Laughter echoed across the hall as the figure swung his sword downward at Link.

* * *

Link bolted upright in bed, the sweat poring from his face. Zelda was awakened instantly and stared in panic at Link.

"What's wrong?" her eyes filled with fear. She barely had time to ask him that question before Link jumped out of bed, and started getting dressed. He twirled his head around and looked at her. She remembered that look that Link had in his eyes. It was the same one that had filled them almost a month ago. He had another nightmare, and by the look of this one, it was much worse.

"Get dressed, we have a big problem." Link said as he finally finished dressing and started heading towards the door. He turned quickly as if he had forgotten something and walked to where he kept his sword and shield. Zelda was now extremely worried. What was happening?

"At least tell me what just happened Link? It was another nightmare wasn't it."

Link stared at her, "Yes, and if you want to know what it was about follow me, we need to talk to the king now!" Link started to walk out the door but stopped and turned around. "First we need to wake Cimar; he needs to hear this as well." He walked out of the room and opened the door to Cimar's room. They both emerged a minute later, Cimar fully dressed and surprisingly awake for it being a little past midnight. By this time Zelda had finally gotten dressed and the three of them walked down to the kings chambers. Link was quiet throughout the entire trip, only paying attention to the path they were taking, rushing madly ahead. When they reached the kings chambers, Link asked the guards to wake the king now, there was something they needed to talk to him without delay. The guards saw the urgent need in Links eyes and one of them went in to wake the king. It was less than a minute later when Hyrule came out of his room, still wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"What is so important that you needed to wake me for at this time in the morning? It had better be important," the king mumbled as he tried to wake up.

Zelda looked to Link thinking the exact same thing as her father, what did he wake them up for?

"Ganondorf is returning." Zelda stared at Link and went pale as Hyrule eyes widened in shock.

"That is indeed very important; I'll call for an emergency defense council immediately." The King was just about to order his servant to wake his generals and defense councilors when Link interrupted him.

"There's more. General Knilkrad, the man that destroyed Turalis is a servant of Ganondorf as well, one that I know very well." As Link said that, he felt Cimar grimace as he heard the name.

Everybody was too stunned at the news to react. Link continued, "I also know who General Knilkrad is…in fact I know him about as well as I know myself."

Cimar stared at Link, not knowing what he was meaning. Zelda was equally confused but tried to hide it. He continued turning to Cimar as he spoke. "He is a being as evil as it comes. All the good that is in me is reciprocated by the evil that is in him. You may know him as Knilkrad, but I know him by his real name, Dark Link the evil that was formed from myself."

* * *

The initial reaction to what Link had said stunned the people sitting around the table just as it had to the people in the king's bedroom. On the table was a map of Hyrule, with all possible routes in which an invasion could take place. The councilors and generals of Hyrule rubbed or shook their heads when they heard the terrible news that Ganondorf was somehow returning. They had no reason to not trust Link, he had never lied to them and the worst part is; he was almost always right in prediction such as these.

"Well at least we now know the threat facing us it seems." The king was putting together all of the information that they knew up to that point. "We know that Ganondorf has somehow broken the seal on him or is in the process of breaking it. We also know that General Knildrad is the entity known as Dark Link, someone who is just as powerful as Link. As we know from Cimar and Links account of him, he is just as evil as Ganondorf, if not more. The only thing we don't know is when their invasion will be coming."

They heard the windows crash open as the wind from outside burst through them. The candles flickered and died, leaving the room lit only by a single candle that was near the throne.

"I believe that I can help you with that answer, gentlemen."

Everyone turned towards the throne where the voice had come from. Sitting on the throne, was the man that only Link and Cimar knew from past experiences. The man looked exactly like Link except for two things. All of this man's clothing was a solid black and his eyes were not a compassionate blue, but a sinister red that resonated with evil. The man sitting on the throne was Dark Link, and he had somehow managed to return to Hyrule.

"I've been waiting a long time to see you again Link. You should try to keep in contact more often as I would like to know how my better half has been," a smile growing on his face. He looked over to see Cimar getting out of his seat, unsheathing his sword, hatred burning in his eyes.

"Ah and Cimar, how wonderful to see you again. The last time I saw you was when I was busy destroying your country. I'm glad that you escaped since I'll be more than happy to repeat that pleasure in your new home." He laughed as Cimar's rage started to build, "Oh yes, I'm sure you would have loved to see how your mother tried to protect your younger brothers as I killed her in front of their eyes before unleashing my wolfos to tear them apart."

Cimar bolted forward but Link managed to grab him and hold him back while Dark Link laughed sadistically.

"Come on Link, you know you want to kill me as much as Cimar does, in fact, you thought you did all those years ago. You must have not wanted to destroy someone that you created and if I was Cimar I guess I could blame you for the destruction in Turalis. If you wouldn't have really finished me off, Cimar's family would have been alive now." He said as his eyes gleamed with the sadistic pleasure he was taking in this situation.

Cimar stopped struggling, turned around and grabbed Link by the throat, catching him by surprise.

"What does he mean that you had a chance to kill him before?" Cimar said as the other men at the table struggled to pull Cimar off of Link.

"Now is not the time." Link gasped as he struck Cimar in the stomach, releasing the grip he had on his neck. Dark Link laughed again.

"Yes, keep fighting…the more pain and suffering that is created, the stronger I become. That was the reason I destroyed Turalis, the power that I gained from all that death and destruction," Dark Link licked his lips and chuckled, "It was incredible." Link looked back at the monster of a man before him as cruel laughter emanated from his demented soul.

"I just thought that I would come to give you a little insight to what my master is planning. In one month's time, the seal that has held him in the sacred realm will be broken. When it breaks, he will come to Hyrule with his armies and utterly waste this pathetic excuse for a kingdom." he spoke with a sadistic gleam in his eyes. His gaze fell upon Cimar once again. "And as a favor to me for helping to release him, he will allow me to again slaughter as many people as I want…starting with your 'friends' at the ranch."

Cimar snapped as his last vestiges of sanity broke from Dark Link's last comment. He broke free of Link's grasp and focused an orb of energy in his palm and shot it towards Dark Link, who vanished the instant before the blast struck him. Maniacal laughter echoed across the room as the wind picked up again, as the remaining candle in the room flickered out…

"See you all in a month's time. I will be looking forward to it." The laughter faded away and the candles were re-ignited by the servants, slowly filling the room again with their light. The only reminder that Dark Link had ever come was the charred remains of what was once the throne of Hyrule.

They had received the answer to the only question they had left. They had one month, thirty days. Thirty days to prepare for the arrival of Ganondorf back into the lands of Hyrule.

**Sorry about the shortness. The next few chapters make up for it though.**


	8. Chapter 7: Preparing the Unprepared

**Chapter 7**

**Preparing the Unprepared**

The day following the sudden arrival and departure of Dark Link, the king had sent out an emergency decree, calling for all of Hyrule to mobilize for the coming invasion. Link and Cimar were in charge of training the army and guards to get them ready for what was to come. Even though Cimar wished fervently for the arrival of Dark Link so that he could revenge his family, he silently wished that he wouldn't come, fearing what might happen to Hyrule in the process, and more importantly, what might happen to Malon and the ranch. After a week of training the new recruits for the army, Cimar requested a meeting with King Hyrule who had kept himself busy trying to recruit the Gorons and Zoras to help aid Hyrule in its hour of need. Cimar walked into the throne room just as Darunia, leader of the Gorons was walking out. He accidentally bumped into him and fell over onto the floor. Darunia stopped and looked down at Cimar who was staring up at him in shock since Cimar had never seen a Goron before.

"Ah Link! Its been a long time, why haven't you….Wait, you are not Link." Darunia was perplexed at this person who looked exactly like his blood brother. Since his first day after arriving at the castle, Link had insisted that Cimar try and wear the type of clothes that he wore since he would be a lot more comfortable than in any other type of clothing available. Plus, he needed more clothes since he came with no extra pairs. Cimar relented after much badgering on the subject and had begun to wear some of Link's newer tunics and pants that he had not yet worn. He had to admit that they were very comfortable and now whenever he went out, he was always wearing the same thing as Link, minus that hat which Cimar had rejected outright.

Cimar introduced himself to the Goron leader and Darunia helped him get back up on his feet.

"It's nice to see that Link has found such a friend in yourself, although I see that he has gotten you to wear that ridiculous outfit that he never seems to take off." Darunia said as they both smiled.

"It actually is pretty comfortable you know. I can see why Link wouldn't want to wear anything else." Darunia laughed and slapped Cimar on the back, almost causing him to fall again.

"I'm glad to see that you are feeling welcomed in Hyrule, now if you excuse me, I have to go and tell my people that we will be supporting Hyrule against this new threat." With that, Darunia walked off down the hall. Cimar stood their wondering what kind of people the Gorons were before his mind snapped back to his meeting with the king. He walked into the throne room and bowed before the king, who had just finished speaking with his advisors.

"Cimar don't you know you don't have to bow. You are like family here now. I don't think I would appreciate it if Zelda started bowing to me every time she wanted to talk with me. Just speak your mind." "

"Thank you your highness," Cimar said as he started to bow again, but stopped midway and straightened himself. Both Cimar and Hyrule chuckled.

"What was it that you wanted to talk to me about? I trust that the new recruits are being trained properly," the king inquired

Cimar nodded, "They are performing excellently especially considering that this is first time many of them have held a sword or a bow. I am sure that they will be ready by a month's time."

"I'm glad to hear that. What was it that you wanted to talk about Cimar?"

Cimar cleared his throat, "Sir, when Link and I visited Talon at Lon Lon Ranch a week ago, he made me a job offer that I accepted at the time. He asked if I would like to work for him starting this week. I know that I should be here helping to train the troops but I also don't want to fall back on my word. Would you be willing to let me meet with Talon and explain why I can't…"

Hyrule stopped him mid-sentence.

"Cimar, I wouldn't worry so much about keeping your word. Link and yourself are the best swordsmen in all the land, nay maybe even in all of the kingdoms of the world and your job right now is to train the troops to prepare them for what is coming."

Cimar knew it. He would not be allowed to go to the ranch; he started to leave but was again stopped by the king.

"Though I do not see why we need two of the most talented swordsmen in the world being occupied in the same task so I think I have another job for you." Cimar looked back at the king, wondering where he was going with this.

"Your new assignment will be to the safeguarding of Lon Lon Ranch and the fortifying of it."

Cimar's heart skipped a beat. He was being re-assigned to the ranch. The king smiled at the pleasure that had crossed Cimar's face.

"I may be king, but even the greatest king can not keep a man from his word. Link informed me about how you had accepted to work at the ranch and I have talked with Talon about this already. He is waiting for you outside of this room as we speak. I believe that you should get ready. You have work to do you know." The king smiled as Cimar left the room to pack what he needed to stay at the ranch. It took him only 15 minutes to pack everything into a bag and meet Talon at the doors of the castle.

"It's about time; you are already an hour late for work you know." Talon scolded as he saw Cimar approach, but then broke into a grin. "It's good to see you again. I thought that with all things happening up here that you would forget about Malon and me. Come on, I have a schedule to keep and we are already late. Malon is going to give it to me for sure…"

* * *

Cimar hopped into the wagon and Talon started the horses through the gates. As they passed through Castle Town, Cimar noticed a big difference in the atmosphere. The shops that had once flourished were now gone and the music that filled the air had vanished, replaced by the shuffling of the masses. They were preparing for the coming war. People had begun to board up their windows and he could see several wagons being built and several more being loaded up with supplies. They were sending the women and children off to Kakariko village keep them safe. Even though Dark Link had said that the invasion wasn't going to happen for another 3 ½ weeks, people were not taking any chances. They crossed the bridge leading out of the city and as they crossed, Cimar noticed that dozens of men with shovels were digging a second moat around the town. Talon clicked his tongue and motioned for the horses to go faster. Cimar wondered what would have happened to Turalis if they had been given this much warning…

They arrived at the ranch thirty minutes later. Even here he could see the workers preparing the ranch for defense. The outer walls had been fortified, with rows of sticks with their edges sharpened pointing towards the outside. A few towers had been erected every 100 feet along the wall while he could see others being built while the entrance to the ranch had changed as well. A large gate had been placed across the entrance with towers on either side. He marveled at just how quickly these people had changed this ranch from a peaceful area where someone could rest, to a fortress. Again, the thought ran through his mind what would have happened to his home if they had time to prepare…

He jumped off the wagon and stopped. Malon was standing in the doorframe of the house, glaring at him. He couldn't understand why she seemed to despise him since he agreed to work at the ranch. His mind was debating if he should go over and ask her about it or if he should just try to ignore her resentment when Talon walked up to him.

"Well, I already have the spare room prepared for you. I have decided that instead of working on the ranch, I thought that it would be better if you helped Rigo over there in planning the defense of the ranch since you are a military man yourself. If you need anything, just let myself or Malon know." Talon pointed out Rigo to Cimar and walked back to the wagon to unhitch the horses to take them back into the stables.

Cimar walked over to Rigo who was staring at a map of the ranch scratching his head trying to figure out how to do his job. He didn't look like a soldier that was for sure. He seemed a little to pudgy and looked as though he hadn't had exercised in a few weeks. He was of medium size with a full head of brown hair, although it was starting to grey at the sides. Cimar introduced himself and asked where he could be of assistance. Rigo scratched his head and muttered that he had no real clue to what he should be doing.

"Would you mind if I took that map and studied it a bit. I could come up with a plan you if you would like?" Cimar asked.

"Certainly. You probably have a lot more experience in this kind of thing than I do anyways. The only thing I know how to build barrels and piping." Rigo stated with a weary look on his face. What Rigo said peaked Cimar's interest though…barrels and pipes…

"You know Rigo," Cimar said as he threw his arm around him, "I think I do know what you can do. You said that you were an expert at making barrels right?" Rigo nodded. Cimar smiled. "Well, here is what I am thinking we should do…"

Ten minutes later, Rigo had a grin that would make even a dodongo smile.

"This will be the most fun my crew has ever had!" he exclaimed. He whistled to gather his men who were busy at the various parts of the ranch. As they arrived, he sorted out the jobs that they each needed to work on and after each of them were told what to do, they hurried off to gather the materials they would need. Cimar smiled as they went to work. He was going to protect this ranch from anyone who would try to take it. He was doing it partly because of his training however; he was doing it mostly to protect one person.

Talon and Malon watched in amazement at the speed of the workers and how much they were accomplishing. They rang a bell to call for lunch yet all of the workers didn't leave from what they were doing. Malon rang the bell again but all of the men were still busily doing their work, taking immense pleasure in what they were doing.

"I've never seen such dedication…" Talon said in wonder. "Cimar must have really given them a pep talk. I doubt that even a swarm of tektites couldn't make them leave their work…That man is amazing." Malon stared at Cimar who was taking notes furiously on a scroll, all the while talking with Rigo. How could one man get so many people to work on the project of protecting their home, when only an hour ago they were walking around not knowing what to do?

Talon tried ringing the bell again to try and get them to stop working. It was to no avail. He sighed and started to walk towards Cimar to see if yelling in his ear would do any good. He was surprised to hear a shout from behind him though.

"Hey Cimar!" Cimar's head jerked to where he heard his name being called.

"Cimar, come over here!" Talon looked around to see that Malon had her hands cupped to her mouth and was yelling at Cimar. Surprisingly, it worked! Cimar spoke a few quick words to Rigo, who whistled for his men to take a break. Cimar promptly jogged over to where Talon and Malon stood.

"Yes, what would you like Malon?" Cimar asked when he finally got to where she stood.

Malon stood with her arms crossed and stared at him, "Lunch is ready." With that she walked back into the house. Cimar stood there, then looked at Talon and shrugged his shoulders. The two followed Malon inside the house and found two bowls filled with the stew that Malon had made the previous week. Malon was in the kitchen

"Looks like your lucky day Cimar. My daughter cooked up her special Lon Lon stew again." Talon leaned over to whisper to Cimar, "Usually she only cooks this up when Link and Zelda come over, or very good friends. I think she must like you."

"I heard that father and if you say that again you will be eating nothing but burnt bread for dinner!" Cimar laughed which seemed to irritate her further.

"I wouldn't laugh either Cimar. You're living here for a week and that goes for you as well." Malon yelled. Cimar silently grinned to himself and quieted instantly and they both started to eat the stew in silence. When they finished and gave their dishes to Malon, who took them roughly away from them and gave them each a glare. As they walked away, Cimar whispered to Talon "Would she really cook nothing but burnt bread for dinner?" Talon shrugged his shoulders.

"I wouldn't put it past her although I don't think that she would do that to a quest."

When Talon and Cimar came in for dinner that night, they sighed deeply realizing the errors of their ways. On each of their plates was a loaf of bread, burnt to the color of charcoal. Cimar sighed…this was going to be a long week.

* * *

Things had at first seemed to be progressing smoothly in the training of the new recruits, but then Link started to find some problems. Several of the newer arrivals were the sons of the more wealthy nobles and businessmen in Castle Town. They arrived with an aura of arrogance that Link noted almost immediately and there was a group of five in particular that seemed to be the biggest troublemakers. The leader of this little group was Sastur, the son of one of the richest merchants in town. Whenever Link would turn his back to the group to train the other recruits they would start pestering some of the less skilled members of their unit, knocking them over, messing with bowstrings and causing general mischief. When Cimar was here, it seemed like they could be controlled more, but since he left to work on protecting the ranch three days ago, the group had been starting to cause real problems.

Link looked back over his shoulder when he heard a loud yelp from behind him. Sastur was gloating over his latest victim, a younger boy named Tarlton who he had started to smack with one of the practice swords. Link was finally fed up with this group.

"Sastur, come here. Now!" Link yelled. Sastur just sneered at him and proceeded to smack Tarlton again before walking over to Link.

"What is it this time?" Sastur whined. "I believe that I could be doing better things right now."

"Well," said Link, "I just changed what you will be doing for the afternoon. You will be practicing your swordsmanship."

Sastur's eyes gleamed. He enjoyed it when he could practice swordplay; he had been trained by his father and so far was unbeatable by any other recruits. He walked over to the area reserved for those practicing with the sword. Link called the other recruits around.

"Today, I have decided to change what you will be doing. Today, you will be watching and taking notes on how to fight your enemy. Sastur will be the attacker and I will be demonstrating how to defend yourself.

Sastur's mouth dropped. "How do you expect me to fight you? This is beyond unfair. Would you want me to tell my father what you are expecting of us?" He yelled at Link, his voice wavering in fright of what he knew was coming.

"Fair?" Link asked. "What is…fair, in your opinion. Would you like life to be fair? Do you think that Ganondorf wants a fair fight? His minions? They will be coming to cleave your head off of your shoulders. They do not care what is fair or not and if you are afraid to attack me, then you have no chance against his creatures." With each sentence, Link took a step towards Sastur until he was no more than two feet away from him. Sastur's face had paled under the stare of Link who was now angrier than ever at the punk who stood in front of him.

"Link, I think that you should calm a little, it is not a good idea to scare these young men anymore than they already are."

Link turned to see Zelda walking towards him. Sastur took the opportunity to back a little ways away from Link. As she got up to Link she whispered in his ear, "I have been watching that boy lately and I think I have a better idea on how to teach that twerp a lesson." She smiled a mischievous grin which Link returned.

"I think I know what you mean…" Link responded. He turned back to face Sastur who took to standing behind his four friends. "Zelda would like to have a few words with you Sastur," he said as Zelda walked forward.

"Since you deem it to be unfair to practice sword fighting with my husband, I believe that I can find you a better opponent. Sastur looked quizzically at Zelda, then stepped in front of his friends. "It's not that," Sastur said folding his arms, his smirk returning. "I just wouldn't want to hurt him to badly. He has to teach the other recruits you know."

Zelda smiled, "Yes, I wouldn't want you to hurt my Link to badly would I…" she said as she winked at Link. "Therefore, I have decided that I will choose your opponent. Please walk to the area marked for sword practice." Sastur walked forward and grabbed a fencing sword and put on some leather armor, obviously pleased that Link would not be fighting him. His smirk quickly was replaced by shock when he watched as Zelda walked over and took a fencing sword out and took the place marked as his opponent and bowed to him. His face palled. Zelda looked at Sastur and smiled.

"Your lesson will begin, now!"

Before Sastur could complain, Zelda had lunged at him. He jumped to the left, and blocked her attack. Zelda quickly turned to face him again and swiped at side which he barely managed to block. Sastur tried to go on the offensive and lunged at Zelda. She yawned and stepped to the side, spinning her sword around Sastur's, knocking it out of his hand. She then slapped him in his side with her sword, knocking him sideways a few steps. Sastur looked at Zelda in disbelief. He was just beaten by a woman, he thought. Not any women, but the princess.

"You have just died. Now unlike a real battle where you don't get a second chance, pick up your sword and try again." Zelda was having fun now. She reckoned that a few more dosages of this medicine should cure this boy of his attitude. He did as he was told and picked up his sword, looking at his sword for a second. This time he would not be beaten by her. He turned to face Zelda and lunged, only to find himself jabbing at the air. He looked around him to see where Zelda had gone, only to fill cold steel sliding beneath his chin.

"You have just been killed, again." Sastur gulped as he felt Zelda's sword slide around his neck as she walked in a slow circle around him, letting the steel slide around his neck.

"I think that dying twice in one day is enough." Zelda could see that her plan was working as she turned away from Sastur to put her sword back where she found it.

Sastur however was not finished. His pride had taken a hit and he wanted revenge. He lunged forward bringing his sword back to strike Zelda from behind. He smirked as it appeared she didn't see him coming. He would smack her with the sword just to prove to his ego that he could win. Zelda stopped and turned her head slightly, looking back at Sastur. As he was about to strike, Zelda turned and with a grace forged from years of experience leaped to the side of him and slammed the hilt of her sword against Sastur's back as he passed. He stumbled forward and turned to face Zelda again, only this time having a very different sword pointing towards him. Link was staring at him, anger filling his eyes.

Sastur dropped his sword onto the ground with a dull thud as it bounced on the dirt. Zelda stared at him from where she stood with her piercing blue eyes, filling his soul with dread. He had just attacked the princess, in front of her husband and in front of everybody…he started to whimper as he thought of what pains were in store for him.

His fear was evident in his eyes as Zelda approached him.

"Usually if someone just tried what you did, they would be executed on the spot; however, I believe that there is a better use for you. You do have some skill with the sword although your arrogance is betraying it and I believe that with a little training and…discipline…" Sastur gulped as she let the word sit for a while before continuing. "You could make a very good soldier. From now on, do not disobey my husband or you will be punished for what you just did." She walked off towards the rest of the group as Link sheathed his sword again, still watching Sastur.

"The enemy you will be facing will show no mercy, no remorse. They will not let you rest for a second, nor will they allow you to even think about your next move just as Sastur has demonstrated. In short, they are killing machines. In battle you must cleanse your mind of all thought besides what you are doing. In order to learn how to live through fighting the armies of Ganondorf, you have to learn the concepts that Link teaches you and not let your _pride_ get in the way of your training" she looked over at Sastur who now had his head hung in shame.

Zelda continued, "You must work as a team, working with and off of each other. You must put others in front of yourself, even if it means sacrificing your life to save theirs." She started to walk back to where Sastur still stood. "And most importantly, you must NOT, underestimate your enemy. Do I make myself _clear?_" She asked almost directly in front of Sastur, who gave a slight nod of his head. With that she walked back to the weapons rack and placed her sword in its place and walked back to Link.

"Zel, you just made my life a lot easier. Thanks."

Zelda turned to him and gave him a quick kiss, "I'm glad that I could help. If he ever acts up again," she said staring at Sastur, "just call." She smiled and walked back into the castle.

Link looked back to his students who now looked different who seemed to have been stunned by what had just happened. Link decided to wake them from their trances.

"Ok, we need to get back on schedule. Everyone, grab a partner and start practicing your defensive skills. This is what you will be using most of the time in battle if the enemy breaches the walls of the castle. When your opponent attacks you, watch for any openings that you can take advantage of, now start." The recruits each grabbed a partner and began to find spots to begin practicing.

"Uh, sir…" Link turned around to see Sastur standing behind him. "Yes", Link replied with a little coldness.

"I would like to…apologize for my behavior. I think I understand what I am supposed to do. I would be honored if you would accept me as a student of yours and allow me to practice with you." He bowed and Link could tell that Zelda had changed him dramatically.

"Thank you Sastur, If you like I will go easy on you."

"No, please don't," replied Sastur, looking up quickly. "You wouldn't be helping me any by doing that. I have a lot more to learn and I would rather do this than spend the rest of my life in the dungeons." Link laughed aloud at that.

"I wouldn't worry about the dungeons Cimar and I really wasn't that worried about you attacking Zelda from behind." Sastur blinked. "What?"

Link leaned down so that nobody else could hear him. "It just so happens that at all of the sword fighting tournaments that take place in Hyrule and the surrounding kingdoms that I only take first place in front of Zelda. A couple of times she has actually beaten me pretty good." Sastur's eyes widened in amazement, he had not known this about the princess. "Really? You mean that I wouldn't have been killed for doing what I did?"

"No…" Link thought for a moment. "You didn't really stand a chance at all even with that sneak attack, although I do not want to see you doing that again."

"Don't worry. I we never attack anyone from behind again. I promise."

"Good, then lets start honing your skills. The pair walked off as Link began teaching Sastur how to defend Hyrule.

**This was the most fun chapter to write personally. I have always wanted to see Zelda in a sword fight but Nintendo just doesn't want to do it…**


	9. Chapter 8: Matters of the Heart

**Chapter 8**

**Matters of the Heart**

"What is that thing?"

Malon was staring at the odd contraption that was in front of her. She stood next to Cimar and Rigo who were both grinning in satisfaction.

"That, is what will protect the entrance of your ranch from attackers." Rigo said, with obvious pride in his voice.

Malon scoffed, "Looks more like something that you would use to fling hay around with…"

The device in front of them did indeed look odd. About twenty feet in front of the machine, a rope was stretched across the entrance of the ranch which led back to the contraption. The machine was made up of two large barrels with tubes leading out from the bottoms of each barrel that were each about a foot across. At the front of the tubes were two boards, each attached to one end of the rope that was stretched across the path.

Cimar grinned when he saw Malon's look of puzzlement.

"Would you like me to explain how it works?" Malon nodded her head. "Ok then. Both of these barrels are filled with oil. These boards at the bottom of the tubes are what hold the oil in the barrels. When someone or in this case, the enemy runs up the path, they will trip on the rope, releasing the boards holding the oil in place. The oil will spill out onto the path, causing it to become incredibly slippery. When whoever is coming up the path tries to walk through the oil, they will slip and fall back down the path. If they get close to making it up the path, all you have to do is grab a torch and light the oil, thus creating an inferno that will burn anything to a crisp that tries to cross it." Cimar smiled at the end of his description. It had taken Rigo and himself a full week to build this and he was extremely proud of it.

Malon didn't know what to think of it. She was baffled that Rigo thought of anything like this, let alone Cimar. "I guess there really is a brain inside that head of yours." She knocked on his head as to validate her point. Cimar rubbed his head where she had hit it. He was glad that she had started to treat him better than when he first arrived, in fact she had stopped baking them burnt bread for dinner after three days.

Malon started to think that maybe the ranch might survive after all with all of the ideas that Cimar and Rigo were building. In the two weeks that Cimar had been here, they had reinforced the outer walls so that even a rolling goron would have trouble knocking it over. They had put a walkway around the entire wall so that people could fire arrows over it without getting hit and had built this…thing, to protect the entrance of the ranch. With a little over a week left until the invasion was supposed to happen, she abandoned her idea of leaving to join the rest of women and children at Kakariko Village. With Cimar guarding her at the ranch she felt safe and secure.

She had started to like Cimar, not that she didn't before. Everything she did now was an act like pretending to hate him. She gave him burnt bread for dinner and was mean to him, although it wasn't out of spite; it seemed to be because of something else…

When her father asked if he wanted a job at the ranch, she was overjoyed at the thought that Cimar would be visiting her everyday, but also scared of what might happen. That might be why treated him the way she did. She still didn't know much about him then, only that he was from a far off land somewhere to the west. Now that he had spent two weeks at her house, putting so much effort into protecting Talon and her, she felt a lot more comfortable around him. He seemed so kind and lighthearted…almost like Link. She didn't want to draw the connection between the two. They were so similar that it was almost eerie. With how Cimar dressed just like Link as well, she caught herself calling him 'fairy boy' once a few days back. She covered it up though by dropping a dish on the floor. When Cimar went to clean it up for her she blamed it on him and walked outside. She thought she had done a good job so far of hiding her feelings towards him and was actually started to resent her treatment of him sometimes…

"Actually, I have something that I made for you as well Malon."

Malon was surprised by Cimar's statement. Every time she had seen him, he was busy working on the defenses of the ranch or this particular machine. When did he get the time to make something for her?

She crossed her arms and glared at Cimar, trying to hide her curiosity, but at the same time she felt incredibly giddy and felt like shaking the information out of him.

"What is it this time…" she scowled…her enthusiasm held barely beneath the surface...

Cimar took no notice of Malon reaction to what he had said. She seemed to act this way every time he was around her so he had just gotten used to it.

"It's up in my room, let me go get it. Rigo would you like to check on the men and see how they are doing? Malon and I need to talk for a bit." Rigo got the hint instantly. "Yes, Ill go check on them." He walked away as Cimar went into the house. Malon was left standing near the door to the ranch house, wondering what on earth Cimar was up to. The excitement was almost too much for her to control. She wondered what on earth could be so special that Cimar would want to give it to her in private… He mind jumped to several different possibilities, none of which she thought she would be prepared for. Luckily for her, Cimar reappeared in the door and asked her to follow him outside the ranch. Now she was really puzzled as to what he was up to.

* * *

They were standing on a hill near the ranch and Malon was filled with curiosity; her mind positively flooded itself with questions. What was he up to? What did he want? Did her father have anything to do with this?

"So…are you going to tell me what we are doing now and what surprise you have for me?" Malon asked as she walked towards him slowly, her hands held behind her back and the cutest look on her face not caring about hiding her real emotions anymore. She walked directly up to him and stared up at him. "Well, you don't want to keep a girl waiting you know." Cimar blushed slightly then regained his composure as he stepped back a foot. "Hold on, I have another surprise to give you before I can give you the second one. Cimar turned and ran towards the tree that was on the hill and climbed up it, using the trunk as a ladder. Malon walked under the tree and looked up to see where he had gone. She heard a rustling behind her and looked back to see Cimar jump out of the tree behind her, scaring her so that she jumped backwards with a slight "Oh!"

I thought you might want some lunch first." Cimar was holding up a picnic basket in one hand and a blanket in the other that he had hidden in the tree. "So do you want to have a picnic?"

Malon was shocked to say the least. "Um, sure" was all she could say at the moment. Of course she loved to have a picnic especially on such a beautiful day as this.

"Great, let me roll out the blanket and get the food ready," Cimar said as he grinned broadly and spread the blanket on the grass. When he was finished, Malon sat down on the blanket as Cimar brought out a sandwich on a plate and handed it to her with a deep bow.

"Why thank you kind sir," she said as she took the plate from him and laughed. Cimar sat down on the blanket, the basket in between them and grabbed a sandwich as he started to eat. He was glad that Malon had stopped her defensiveness and was actually pleasant today.

Malon picked up the sandwich off of her plate and looked at it for a second before taking a bite. She hadn't seen Cimar in the kitchen at all that day so when did he get these sandwiches. She took a bite and grinned before taking a second followed by a third. Cimar grinned as he saw her devour her sandwich in a few short minutes.

"Where did you get this Cimar? It's wonderful, what kind of meat is in this thing?" Malon asked as she eyed the basket to see if there was another piece hiding in there. Cimar reached in and grabbed another sandwich and offered it to her. "I'm glad you like it. The meat is an old family recipe passed down generation to generation. It takes a few days to prepare the ingredients and spices but it was well worth the effort to see you enjoying it so much.

She stared at him, "Don't you want to tell me what it is?" she asked as she curled her lip into a frown.

"Only if you tell me what is in your famous Lon Lon stew that you made when I first visited." Cimar responded, imitating her look and then when he couldn't hold it anymore started to laugh. Malon poked him in his side. "Now that isn't fair. I asked you first." Cimar poked her back, a little harder this time.

"Of course it's fair." Malon jabbed Cimar in the side and noticed that he squirmed as she hit him this time. With a slight grin she started to laugh. "I think I know how to get that recipe out of you." She started poking Cimar repeatedly in the side which caused him to squirm even more.

"Hey, stop that" Cimar pleaded as he tried to poke her back which caused her to twist a little. "Ahh it seems like two can play at this game," he said as he started to tickle her back. They continued to poke and ticker each other until they both lay in the grass next to each other, breathing heavily while trying to laugh at the same time.

Malon looked over to Cimar who had finally stopped laughing. 'I will get that recipe out of you someday, at least I know how to get it out of you now" she smiled as she said it. "Only if you give me the recipe for that stew you know," Cimar responded.

Malon smiled and looked up at the clouds for a few minutes as they passed lazily by. She had not had this much fun in a long time, especially since Link and Zelda came to visit haphazardly and usually without much prior warning. She should have treated Cimar a lot better than she had been, he might have taken her out on more of these trips. She loved outings like this where a simple picnic could bring so much joy, especially since it was Cimar who was the one she was enjoying this day with.

Malon and Cimar stared up at the sky and pointed out different shapes they could see in it for a little while before the conversation turned.

"Hey, Malon I was wondering something…" Malon had her arms resting behind her head as she looked over at him. "Yes?"

"Are you going to be busy tomorrow?"

"Not really. I have the chores to do of course in the morning but after that no. Why the interest?"

"Well I just thought that you might want to do this again tomorrow. Link told me about a great spot near Lake Hylia that he said was beautiful this time of year and that it might be a fun activity to do."

"Well…" Malon pretended to be deep in thought, "I think I could make something work out" she said finally trying to hide a grin but doing a horrible job of it.

"That's great." Replied Cimar as he again looked up towards the sky before sitting up suddenly, like he remembered something. He smacked himself on the head.

"Boy do I feel stupid" he said as he laughed. "I believe that I have something to give to you."

Malon leaned up on her elbows and looked at him, the anticipation clearly etched onto her face. Cimar looked back to her before removing the object from his pocket. "Malon, close your eyes and hold out your hands." She closed her eyes and felt as Cimar placed something in her hands. "Ok, open your eyes."

Malon looked down and gasped…

In her hands were two crystal orbs, perfectly smooth and each exactly the same as the other. She reached down with her other hand and turned the crystals in her hand, marveling at the beauty of it. He had made this for her?

"This is a special crystal that I made for us. You know those stones that are around Hyrule and if you hit them they tell you the time?"

Malon nodded as Cimar continued. "I managed to figure out the magic behind it and put that same magic into these crystals, watch."

She watched as Cimar took one of the crystals and held it in his hand and breathed on it. To her surprise, it had started to glow, vibrating softly as it started to shimmer. She looked down to see that the same thing was happening to the crystal in her hand… She noticed that a sort of fog had started to swirl around inside of the crystal and leaned in to look closer at it. The fog started to form into a face in the crystal…it was Cimar? She looked over at the other crystal and noticed that the same thing had happened, except that in his crystal she saw herself in it.

"You mean…we can see each other through these?" she asked. Cimar nodded. "Not only that but we can talk to each other as well. Whenever you want to talk to me at the castle, just hold this in your hand and think of me. I will always be keeping this crystal on me, at all times while we are away...

At the castle? What did he mean when he said that? Did he mean if he was going to be at the castle for a few days before coming back to the ranch before the invasion? She looked at Cimar with a questioning look as he stared back, his blue eyes showing an emotion that she dreaded to see. Sadness. Regret… he surely wasn't going to leave her and the ranch…was he?

Cimar cleared his throat. He might as well get this over with… He stared back at Malon. She could tell something was going to happen…

"I won't be at the ranch during the invasion…Hyrule has ordered me back at the castle to help Link train the troops during this last week and then to protect the castle…"

Malon didn't pay attention to the last part…her heart had already been shattered for the second time in her life, the first being when she heard of Link's and Zelda's marriage. She was planning on him staying to protect her and Talon. That was why she was staying at the ranch with her father. She was counting on Cimar being there to protect them, and now he was leaving them to help at the castle. How could he betray her like this…? Tears starting welling up in her eyes…Why?

She got up slowly and started to walk back to the ranch, not knowing what to think anymore. Cimar tried to grab her arm to stop her from leaving but she pulled it away.

"Malon, please. This wasn't my decision. I wanted to be at the ranch to help you out. I love the ranch, I love working there. I love you…" the last one slipped out before Cimar could stop it…

"I just wanted to spend tomorrow with you before I left; I thought that it would be a nice memory to cherish…"

Malon went cold…he had said it. The word that had been dodging her ever since she had found him unconscious many weeks ago. Why hadn't he said anything sooner? Her sadness turned to anger, anger giving way to rage. She turned back to face Cimar, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"If you loved me then why would you leave us defenseless at the ranch? Do you like living up at the castle so much compared to our drafty house? Is it that you would rather be with the women at the castle than with a poor farm girl such as myself? Is that it?" She felt as the tears started to burn her eyes. "If you loved me so much that you would leave me when I need you the most than you can keep your stupid rock and give it to one of your friends at the castle instead of a ranch girl like me!" She threw the crystal to the ground and started running, her tears wetting the grass all the way back to the ranch.

* * *

Cimar had been standing at the same place for the past hour, staring at the crystal he had made for Malon which was still laying on the ground. What had he done wrong…? He was stupid for what he had said. Why did he have to go and say that he loved her? What a moron… He would never be able to make up with Malon now. They needed him back at the castle tomorrow and he couldn't bear to see Malon as upset as she was. He decided that it would be best if he just went back to the ranch, told Talon that he was leaving for the castle that night. That way, it would be less painful for them. He started to walk slowly back to the ranch. Pain enveloping his body. Not a physical pain, it was a type of pain that he had never felt before. Cimar had never felt what it was like to have a broken heart; this must be what the feeling he had now was…

Malon crashed through the front door and ran up the stairs to her room as quickly as she could, slamming the door behind her. Talon looked up as she was running up the stairs and noticed tears streaming down her cheeks. He walked up the stairs behind her and knocked on her door…

"Malon, are you alright?"

"Please…don't come in…" Talon heard in between bouts of crying. He cautiously opened the door. "Malon, what's wrong." He saw Malon lying on her bed, sobbing uncontrollably into her pillow. He couldn't bear to see his daughter like this. "What happened? I saw you leaving the ranch with Cimar a couple hours ago…"

"DON'T EVER MENTION THAT NAME AGAIN!" Malon screamed as she stared at Talon, her face was reddened by tears. Her hair was disheveled from the run back to the ranch, little strands hanging here and there across her face. Talon knew that look… It was one that he felt every day of his life since his wife had died. Complete and utter sadness. An unquenchable demon that stole that happiness from your life…he knew that his daughter's heart had just been broken.

"Come here," Talon motioned as he held out his arm. Malon reached towards her father, embracing him in her arms still sobbing. He held her tightly trying to comfort her as much as he could…

"It's ok honey. It will be ok…" Malon was crying into his shoulder. The last time she felt like this was on the night that Link told her she was engaged to Zelda. Of course, then she had always known that they would eventually be married one day, but it had still come as a shock. She was always hoping that he would come back but when Link told her he was engaged, her dreams ended. This was different though…she could still see Link anytime that she wanted…but with the coming invasion, she might not see Cimar ever again since he might not make it through that battle.

Talon held her in his arms for an hour until she had stopped crying and had fallen asleep. He laid her gently on her bed, covering her with the blanket that her mother had sewn for her when she was a little girl. He closed the curtains to her room and blew the candle out before walking out the door. As he descended the stairs, he heard a knock at the door and walked down to see who it was. Cimar was standing at the door and Talon's fatherly instincts took hold as the man who had hurt his daughter so much stood before him. He punched Cimar squarely in the jaw, sending him flying backwards into the dirt, raising a dust cloud as he landed. Cimar lay on the ground where he landed, knowing he deserved whatever he received form Talon.

"I do not want to see your face around her!" Talon roared. "Do you hear me? I want you gone within the next five minutes and if you aren't by golly I will tear you in half for what you have done to my daughter!" Cimar stood up, wiping at his mouth which had begun to bleed. He didn't look at Talon he just stared at the ground.

"I was planning on leaving tonight anyways…I've been ordered back to the castle by tomorrow evening." Talon's expression didn't change but he realized why his daughter was in pain. He must have told her that he was ordered to return to the castle. He felt a pang of sorrow for hitting him but he did not want this man around his daughter in both of their emotional states. "Before I go though," Cimar reached in his pocket and withdrew a small round crystal. "Would you please give this to Malon? And tell her that I'm sorry for any pain that I caused her."

"I might give her this; I just might throw it away what's it too ya." Talon said in a gruff voice.

"Thanks." Cimar said as he walked to the stables and retrieved a horse and saddle. "Would you mind if I borrowed a horse for the journey back?" he asked Talon.

"If it makes it so you leave the sooner the better then no, I don't mind," was Talon's response.

Cimar quickly saddled the horse and got on. He took one last look at the window that he knew was Malon's.

"Tell her I am sorry for what happened today and if she could ever forgive me." He said, looking at Talon one last time before kicking the horse and galloped down the path. Talon watched as Cimar disappeared from sight, leaving only a trail of dust in his wake.

"Dad?"

Talon turned to see Malon standing in the doorframe. "Malon, what are you doing up. I thought you went to bed."

"Was that Cimar leaving?" she asked.

"Yes, he just left for the castle." Replied Talon.

"Did he leave you anything?" Talon looked down into his hand and looked at the crystal that Cimar had given him.

"Yes, he did give me this." He walked forward and held out the crystal for her to take. She grabbed it slowly and made her way back up to her room. After she had closed the door behind her, she walked over to her dresser and placed the crystal on it. She lay down on her bed and stared at it. As she did, she watched as it started to glow. She sat up and began to reach for it but stopped herself and sat back down; watching as the light slowly faded away and the room was dark again. She slowly drifted off to sleep and dreamt about what might have happened if Cimar had never left and about what she would do now that he was gone…

* * *

Link watched as Cimar had walked into the castles courtyard, his head hanging down and his steps seemingly slow, his path being anywhere his legs happened to take him. He called for his students to gather around him. They had certainly improved in the past three weeks since they had begun to train them. Sastur seemed especially motivated after the beating he had received from Zelda. He had focused all of his energy on training and helping his fellow recruits, sometimes helping Link demonstrate different types of maneuvers. He told them that training would end for the day early and that they should go home and get some rest and his students quickly packed their gear and weapons and walked back to their homes. He walked over to where Cimar had sat down under a tree.

"Cimar it's nice to see you again. How is Malon doing?" Link instantly regretted saying Malon's name as Cimar shuddered as if someone had shocked him with a bari. Cimar stared up at Link, pain filling his eyes at even the mention of her name. He decided that it would be best to change the subject.

"How is the ranch going to hold up for a prolonged assault? Do they need any more reinforcements? Cimar glanced up at Link, and then began to stand up, leaning against the tree for support as he stood.

"The ranch will be fine. All of the walls have been reinforced so that nothing could penetrate through them. The entrance has been secured. As long as the gates are closed and locked they should be ok."

"Great, I'll ask the king to see if any more men could be spared for protecting the ranch. Come on, it looks like you had a bad day. I believe that the cooks are preparing a wondrous meal tonight." They walked into the castle, Link hoping that food might help his friend with whatever pain he was dealing with…

**A bit sad to write, but still enjoyable, although I hope I got the emotions right for the characters. Anyways, please leave a review so I know what you guys think of the story so far.**


	10. Chapter 9: The Deadly Surprise

**Chapter 9**

**The Deadly Surprise**

With only four days left until Dark Link had said the invasion would commence, the citizens of Hyrule Castle and Castle Town started working double time to defend their homes and country. The river that had flowed in front of Castle Town and acted as a moat had been widened to almost 40 feet in width and to a depth of 10 feet. Walls and barricades had been built down the center path of Castle Town with towers that would impede any creature that Ganondorf could unleash. The Castle had been improved upon the most though… a ditch had been dug around the castle 15 feet wide by 7 feet deep. The Zora's had found an underground spring near the castle and had filled the ditch with the water from it creating a moat right up to the walls of the castle. Darunia and the Gorons had brought down large boulders from Death Mountain to use in the catapults that had been built on the walls of the castle and watchmen stood at their posts, two on each side of the wall watching for anybody coming towards the castle.

Link smiled as he stood on the walls of their fortress and looked down at the town below. He was glad that his they had been warned a month early. It had given them the much needed time to prepare. Zelda and Cimar stood on either side of him. They were watching the sunset, as Link and Zelda always tried to do together. Cimar tried to watch as the beauty of nature drew the day to a close but his gaze was always drawn onto another beauty. He gaze was focused on the ranch that stood on the hill in the middle of Hyrule field and the one person that he truly wished he could share this moment with. They could have been watching the sunset together but no, he had to be at the castle. His gaze refocused on the sun as it slowly began its descent below the hills to the west. Something caught his eye though…what appeared to be a lone figure on a horse was standing near the entrance of the Gerudo Desert. He clasped Link on his shoulder and pointed the figure out to him. Link ordered one of the nearby guards to give him a telescope to inspect this person since there had been no response of help from the Gerudo as of yet. He gazed at the figure that was now magnified so that he could make out who it was. A look of anger came to his face as he brought the telescope away from his eye and slammed it shut.

"He said a month that liar!" Cimar took the telescope from Link and gazed at the figure. The horse was jet black, its red eyes flaring in the coming dusk. The rider wore a completely black tunic the only other color was his crimson eyes. Dark Link had returned and he had come four days early.

* * *

"We have to send a rider out to the ranch! They don't have enough men there to protect it!" Cimar yelled at Link who was also yelling at the assembled generals to order their men to their stations.

"I already have!" Link yelled back turning to Cimar. "When he was within yelling distance of the ranch a stalfos appeared and killed him! We can't risk any more men. If you have any other way of getting to the ranch without risking somebody getting themselves killed, please tell me!" Link went back to giving the generals their orders for the defense of the ranch. Cimar stood quietly for a moment, mentally slapping himself. The crystal! He could contact the ranch through the crystal! He reached in his belt pocket and found it where he had left it when he had left the ranch, only taking it out once. He thought of Malon and watched as fog started to swirl around inside of the crystal.

* * *

Malon was in her room, getting ready to retire for the night when she saw a glow starting to appear behind her. She turned and saw the crystal was starting to vibrate. She watched as Cimar's face appeared in the crystal. She was just going to leave it on her dresser, after what he did to her, she wouldn't pick it up to talk to him no matter what he wanted to say.

"Malon please pick up! Please pick up the crystal!" Malon turned to see that Cimar's voice was coming from the crystal even without her picking it up. She started to walk over to it and reached out to grab it but retracted her hand. Why should she talk to him? She heard Cimar starting to speak again. "Malon if you are not going to pick up the crystal, run to one of the towers! Dark Link has arrived early. He is marching towards the ranch! You are in danger! Please leave, NOW!"

She heard the fear in his voice. Dark Link had come, already? But they still had four days left? As she was wondering about what he had said, he heard a man scream and she raced to her window and saw the guards running around the yard frantically. So he had come…she ran downstairs, forgetting about the crystal that still was on her dresser with Cimar still screaming for her to escape.

She started frantically searching for her father. She heard more screaming from outside and ran out the door and watched in horror as she saw several stalfos and lizafos running up the path towards her, their eyes glistening knowing that they were about to kill. One of stalfos tripped on something and fell down, knocking one of the other lizafos down with him and watched as the boards holding the oil in Cimar's machine were yanked away. Oil burst from the two pipes, roaring down the path like a tsunami. The rest of Ganondorf's minions started to slip back down the path, screeching in rage. She remembered how Cimar had said about the oil being ignitable. She grabbed a torch and started to run to the path where a lizafos was starting to get back up. As she was just about to throw the torch into the oil, the lizafos jumped towards her, its sword ready to cleave her head off. Malon screamed.

* * *

Why wasn't she answering! Cimar had started yelling into the crystal, hoping that his message had gotten through to her. He had run to the walls surrounded Castle Town trying to get a better view of the ranch. To his horror, he watched as several dozen lizafos and Stalfos had started up the path leading to the ranch. A minute later he watched as a fireball shot towards the sky, its fire illuminating the countryside for miles around. Malon, oh Malon, please be alright!

* * *

Malon was crouched on the ground, holding her hands above her head waiting for the end. She heard a scream, then a gurgling sound from above her and watched as the lizafos dropped in front of her, a pitchfork protruding from its chest.

"Malon we need to get out of her! I will not have my daughter in a war zone!" She looked up to see her father standing above her, looking down at her. She grabbed his hand that was extended to her and Talon helped her up.

"I know a secret way out of the ranch that Rigo and Cimar had been working on. Come on! Hurry!" They started running towards the back of the ranch, near the tower that stood opposite of the house. Malon heard a scream behind her and watched in horror as a horde of stalfos and lizafos had jumped through the inferno at the entrance to the ranch killing the guards that tried to stop them, several of them still on fire from the path to the ranch and screeching in pain.

"What about the horses and cows! We can't leave them!" Malon screamed as she looked back towards the stables. A lizafos had collapsed near a pile of hay that was propped up against the stables and had ignited the pile which was now working it way across the stables.

"There is no time! We have to leave now!" Talon pushed the door to the tower open and started to run to a corner that was filled with boxes. He pushed them aside and revealed a secret room that was hidden from view. Talon pushed Malon through the opening and followed after her, pulling the boxes back over the opening. Inside of the cramped room was a tunnel that led in the direction of the Lost Woods.

"Quickly down the tunnel!" Talon screamed as he heard the sound of the door being smashed in the room they had just left and the sound of claws clacking against the stone floor. She started to slide down the tunnel, not knowing what awaited her at the end.

* * *

Cimar had watched in horror at what was taken place at the ranch. The entire place was an inferno. The stables and the house had caught on fire. He gaze was shaken by a burning sensation in his hand. The crystal that he made for Malon was started to sizzle and burn. He dropped it onto the ground as it caught fire and started to shatter. No…it couldn't be….Malon was supposed to have that with her…It couldn't be…

He dropped to his knees, tears burning at the back of his eyes. "Why must this happen again! Why must I have to live with this torture…" His words started to grow in volume until he was screaming them out for everyone to hear.

He stared up at the sky and started to shake his fist.

"Curse you Dark Link, curse you Ganondorf…CURSE YOU GODDESSESS!!!" he roared, rage filling every word.

Lightning flashed in the sky as he spoke, rain starting to pelt the ground around him. The soldiers on the wall stared at Cimar who was now facing the ground.

"I will have my revenge on you Dark Link, no matter the cost…you have killed my family, you have destroyed my home and you have killed the last person who I loved…For that…I will personally kill you."

The rain that was now falling in torrents smothered the last of the embers that had once been the crystal that Cimar had given to Malon, just as the last part of his heart became calloused over to hate and rage. He wished that the wall that separated him from the enemy would vanish so that he could reach Dark Link and make him pay for his crimes.

* * *

"Where did Cimar run to?" Link asked a guard that stood near the castle gates.

"I saw him running off to the town sir. He was frantically yelling into a crystal while he ran. He was saying something like "you are in danger. Leave now' or something like that."

Link's face palled. Cimar wouldn't have left for the ranch would he? After Link had told him they weren't sending out anymore messengers to the ranch, he had sprinted out of the room. Zelda had tried to stop him but he pushed her out of the way which surprised both Zelda and Link. Link ran back to the throne room where the king and Zelda where. He burst through the doors and ran up to the throne, slightly gasping when he stopped.

"Zelda, I think Cimar has gone off to the ranch to protect Malon. I am taking my troops out to stop him before he can get there."

"I can't let you do that Link," the king replied. "You and your troops are the best we have right now; I cannot afford to lose you or any of them."

"Well I am leaving anyways with them to go defend the town. Cimar might not have been able to leave so he might be at the wall."

"I will come with you then." Zelda was getting up out of her seat. Link noticed that her clothes were different. She no longer wore all of the decorative items or jewelry. She had changed to a simple red blouse and a white shirt underneath of it with a matching white dress. Her long, flowing hair had been tied back in a braid and she had two rapiers attached to either side of her belt.

"No you will not Zelda. I will not have my only daughter taking part in this battle, no matter how good you are with the sword. That is an order!" the king stated.

"Please, Zel. Stay here. I will be back shortly. I don't want to have to worry about your safety." Link pleaded with her.

Zelda looked back at Link, his eyes pleading with her. She sighed; Link had never asked anything of her before. "Ok, but be careful Link, I do not want to become a widower this early in our lives."

"Trust me; you will not be a widow after this is over. I promise." Link walked up to Zelda and gave her a kiss. He gave her a reassuring hug as well as another kiss before rushing out of the room.

* * *

Malon was running across Hyrule field with all the energy she could muster and Talon was right behind her, helping her along. She had already lost one of her shoes when she started running across the field and her legs and dress were scratched and torn from the run. The tunnel had led behind the ranch next to a patch of trees and bushes that concealed the entrance. Talon had made sure it was safe and they had started to sprint towards the Lost Woods, hoping to find refuge in its vast forests. They had been noticed by a group four lizafos that had been searching near the entrance of the ranch for any survivors. They screeched in delight and started up the chase.

They were now only a hundred yards away from the entrance into the forest yet the creatures were closing in on them at a remarkable pace. Twenty yards away and Malon could swear that she felt their putrid breath on her back, their screams echoing all around her. Ten yards out and the creatures were only thirty yards away. When they reached the entrance of the woods, Talon stopped and grabbed Malon, anxiety flowing through his eyes.

"Malon keep running, don't look back. Do not wait for me, now RUN! Run as far as you can! GO!" She bolted through the entrance into the forest but stopped after running twenty yards. She looked back to see her father slicing a lizafos in half with the sword he was carrying. The other creatures had stopped their pursuit of Malon and now turned towards Talon. As he blocked a swing from one of the creatures he noticed Malon had stopped.

"RUN MALON!! LEAVE!!! DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME!!!" He dodged another blow aimed at his chest and sliced the offending arm off. Malon stared at her father for only a moment more before running further into the woods, the sound of battle growing fainter as she entered the woods.

* * *

Link and his troops were jogging down the main road that led into Castle Town with him in the lead, followed by Sastur, who he had made his second in command. When they reached the central plaza of the town, Link called for his troops to halt. He called for Sastur and spoke something quickly into his ear. Link then sped off in the direction of the Temple of Time. When he arrived, he found Rauru already there motioning for him to come inside.

"I thought that you might want to have it for the upcoming battle." Rauru said as Link approached. "It is waiting for you, you know." Rauru and Link stepped forward into the Temple. The three gems already were in their places and the door of time was already open.

Link walked out of the Temple of Time and started jogging back to his troops who stood where they had stopped. He jogged up to the front of them and ordered them to follow him to the walls of the city. His troops did not follow him though when he started down the path. He turned to look at them and ordered them to follow.

"That's the Master Sword…" Sastur stammered, pointing towards the sword on Link's back. "I thought that it was only a legend…" All of his troops had stopped to stare at the legendary blade that Link was carrying.

"It is not a legend since I have it on my back. I have wielded this blade in each battle I have fought in. Now if we don't hurry, I might have to use it on you, now start moving." His soldiers snapped to, and quickly marched after Link. They had a newfound respect for Link now. If their leader, the person who trained them was the chosen bearer of the Master Sword, they felt that nothing could stop them now.

* * *

Link found Cimar on the wall near the main gate of Castle Town. He was hunched over in the rain staring at the remains of Lon Lon Ranch. The flames had died down slightly because of the rain and also because most everything had already been burnt to the ground. Link had brought along the group of soldiers that he had trained with him to help him find Cimar. Sastur stood next to Link wondering what could cause such distress in a man. He tried to walk forward to help him up, but Link stretched his arm in front of him, blocking his way forward. Link was the first to speak.

"Cimar, I know you loved her, but we have other things that we need to focus on right now. We need you right now in defending the town. Do you think that you are ready to do this?"

The figure in front of them slowly raised his head, then stood up and turned towards Link. His eyes were completely devoid of any emotion.

"Yes. I think I am." With that, he turned to face the oncoming army marching towards castle town. He would enjoy this battle. He would use it to revenge everyone that he had lost in his life. This battle would be dedicated to all of them.

**Three words…what will happen?**


	11. Chapter 10: The Battle Begins

**Chapter 10**

**The Battle Begins**

The two armies faced one another, each waiting for the call for the battle to start. On one side, stood the hordes of darkness, the armies of Ganondorf. On the other was the forces led by Cimar and Link. All of their planning came down to this moment. Link was depending on the fortifications that they had built to protect his men. All of their training would amount to nothing if they had no defenses to aid them.

Dark Link stared at the city before him and grinned in anticipation. This was going to be a glorious battle. He called forth one of his generals, a wolfos and ordered him to give the attack command. The general grinned as it howled out the order to attack and the army began to march towards the city walls.

"It wouldn't be long now…"thought Dark Link… "Not long at all."

* * *

Link watched as the hordes in front of the city started to march. So it was beginning. At two hundred yards out, he ordered for the catapults to be prepared to fire. The men around the machines started readying their machines. At each one, a stack of boulders were placed with a Goron who was in charge of putting them onto the catapults. When the army was 150 yards away, Link gave the signal to fire. He heard the 'twang' of ropes being cut and looked up to watch as the boulders flew through the sky and watched as they crashed and rolled through the advancing ranks of wolfos, lizafos and stalfos, crushing each without mercy.

Cimar felt the ground shake as the rocks impacted with the ground and the screams of the enemy as they were crushed beneath them. He enjoyed that sound; he cherished it and wished that he could be the one inflicting that sort of pain on the enemy. He had never felt like this before when he had fought an enemy, he never lusted after battle or the pain that he would cause.

He focused his power that the Ameon had given to him and charged energy in his hand, this time it glowed a dark crimson as lightning danced around its edges. He fired it into a crowd of lizafos, killing them instantly as well as maiming all other creatures within twenty feet of it. He smiled watching the destruction happening before him as he charged up another ball of energy and shot it out towards his foes and grinned as he heard the shrieks of pain it caused.

Cimar shook his head when he realized what he was thinking. Why was he thinking this now? He answered his own question with a single word. "Malon" That was why he felt like this. He started to charge another energy blast but stopped, shaking his head again. He couldn't let rage control him again, not like the last time, not like what happened in Turalis. In his rage after hearing about the death of his family he slaughtered the entire army that had destroyed his home in a terrible bout of anger. When he had calmed down, not even the charred remains of the houses were left. No, he could not let his rage coupled with his power get the best of him again…

The energy in his hand turned from a dark red to a crimson, followed by a pink before finally turning white and dissolved back into his hand. He looked back up at the battle. It would not be worth it to lose his soul to rage again, not even to avenge Malon. He started to smile for the first time since he watched the ranch burn. He would revenge her, but would not lose his soul in the process.

After the initial assault by the catapults, Ganondorf's army ignored the rain of death from above and proceeded to run across the field. At 50 yards out, Link ordered for the catapults to cease and for the archers to start to fire. Hundreds of arrows zipped through the air as into the sky. Link looked out to watch as the first few lines of mostly lizafos went limp and fell to the ground, their bodies becoming pincushions. However, with each foe that fell, another took its place. The army that was assembled before the walls of the city was well over 20,000 strong, larger than any other army that had come before it. Lightning flashed across the sky as the monsters reached the moat that had been built.

They crashed into the moat, ignoring the depth and width of it, their only goal reaching the castle gates and walls on the other side. They piled on top of each other, clamoring to move forward. Many were drowning under the crushing weight of the monsters on top of them with others on the top were being massacred by the archers on top of the walls. They were dying by the hundreds, yet they pushed on, the urge to kill driving them forward.

The men working the catapults had stopped to join in with the men at the walls. The gorons had started to carry the boulders and rocks that were left over from the catapults and drop them over the wall on top of their foes. The screeches of the dying monsters filled the air. They had no bows so they couldn't shoot at their enemies. Only their swords and fangs were their weapons, and since they couldn't get to the Hylians to use them, they were useless.

Dark Link watched the battle progressing. It seemed like he had underestimated the ingenuity of the people of Hyrule. Too bad that they would all have to die. He raised his hand in the air and snapped his fingers twice. A dozen wizrobes appeared behind him. Dark Link worked his way across the walls of the city, looking for a place to attack so his army could start its march of death across the town. He smiled when he saw a familiar face standing on the wall giving orders. He turned, "You there," as he pointed at one of the wizrobes "Attack the man clad in green on the wall there." He pointed out the figure to the evil wizard you gave a grin of satisfaction. "As you wish sire."

* * *

Link was becoming inpatient with the battle. What was Dark Link thinking? He looked down at the growing mounds of dead monsters littering the ground and completely filling the moat that had been dug. Probably well over a thousand of the enemy had been slain without a man of his hurt and yet they still came. They crawled over the bodies of their slain comrades, trying to get ever closer to the men on the wall. The piles of their dead growing faster than they could disappear into the stained earth. He looked back to were Dark Link stood across the battlefield and noticed that there were several more people around him than before… He got out the telescope that he had brought with him and focused it on the men surrounded Dark Link.

"Wizrobes."

"What?" asked Sastur who had never heard of them before.

"They are wizards you have been corrupted by Ganondorf and their minds have been twisted to serve him." Link answered. "They are capable of very powerful magic and are very adept at using it." He yelled down to the commander in charge of the catapults.

"You there, I want those catapults trained on the hill where their general is standing, NOW!"

"Right away," was the reply. Link did not want to have to deal with wizrobes again especially with over a dozen of them at once.

"LINK, look out!!" Link turned to see Cimar pointing to something out in the field. He turned just in time to see a ball of green light coming across the field aimed directly at him. He unsheathed the Master Sword and focused on the energy screaming towards him. He grinned and stretched his arms. It was about time for him to start using the skills he had acquired while on his journeys.

Cimar watched as Link turned to face the wizrobes attack and unsheathed his sword. What was he thinking? Was he mad? He must be..

"Link! Move that thing is going to hit you!" Cimar screamed. The energy was almost at Link and Cimar turned and crouched on the ground so he wouldn't have to watch as one of his last friends was incinerated next to him. He heard the sound of energy hitting metal and saw a bright flash of light behind him. He waited for an explosion, but none came…

He turned around as he heard a loud boom and saw Link smiling in triumph with his sword resting on his shoulder. Cimar looked around to see where the attack had gone and then looked back at Link who was pointing towards the hill where the wizrobe had been standing. Cimar turned and his mouth dropped. Where the wizrobe had once stood, there now was a gigantic crater, still smoldering from the impact of the energy attack. He saw a few bodies scattered around the epicenter of the attack and saw that almost all of the wizrobes had been killed by the blast.

"How…how…" It was the only thing that Cimar could say. He turned back to Link and pointed to the hole in the ground… "Did you just do that?"

"Oh, you mean that?" Link said lazily, pointed to the gap where a hill once was.

Cimar nodded, his mouth still hanging open. "Yeah, I picked up that trick when I fought with Ganon's phantom. The only hard part is timing it right so that you can send the energy back to the person who sent it at you in the first place. Believe me, it is not very fun when you miss, I can tell you that." Link chuckled at his own joke; one that Cimar thought was not something to laugh about.

* * *

Dark Link cursed under his breath. His tunic was singed slightly by the blast and the wizrobes that he had commanded were almost all dead now thanks to Link. He got back up on his feet, brushing at the dirt covering his clothes and looked around to see if any of his wizards had survived. He watched as one, started to get off the ground then collapsed, dead before hitting the ground.

"I am still here sire." He turned to see one surviving wizrobe. His robes had been badly burnt and he was holding what was left of his left hand.

"Aim as far away from that man as you can. I don't want him to spoil my plans!" he didn't know how Link deflected that attack and he didn't want to repeat what just happened again. He would have to note that for a future reference. Dark Link turned back to watch as the wizrobe spoke his spell and fired it at the opposite end of the wall where the last attack had failed. The wizrobe collapsed after the spell as it had taken the last of his energy to perform. It was now or never for this to work. He got his wish…

* * *

All Link saw was a bright flash and the sound of an explosion. The shockwave from the blast knocked him off of his feet. "What was that!" He looked to see that the same thing had happened to Cimar, Sastur and the rest of the troops under his command. He scanned the walls of the city to see where the explosion had come from. At the opposite end of the wall where he stood the only thing that remained of a thirty foot wall was a crater in the earth and an opening twenty feet wide. The crater started to fill with the water from the moat but that was not what concerned him. He watched as monsters started to pour through the opening, sloshing through the water.

"Tarlton." Tarlton heard his name and turned around to face Link. "I want you to report to the castle what has just happened. Tell them to send reinforcements, now go!" Tarlton ran off towards the castle and Link started barking orders at the rest of his troops who were now recovering from the shockwave.

"Men! We have a breach in the walls. Follow me!! We need to prevent them from coming in!" Link yelled for his troops to run to attack the monsters that were already starting to rampage through Castle Town, slicing down the guards that stood in their way.

Link rushed ahead of his troops, trying to get to the hole as quickly as he could. He saw movement on both sides of him and saw Sastur and Cimar match his pace. Link smiled, "You guys ready for a fight!" They both smiled, not taking their eyes away from the monsters running through the gap. The trio screamed their war cries with Link starting and Cimar finishing.

"FOR HYRULE!!!!!!"

"FOR HONOR!!!!!"

"FOR MALON!!!"

Three lizafos who had just entered the gap turned to see where three screams had come from just in time to see swords sliced them in half. The three threw themselves into the center of the enemy, slicing at everything that moved. The rest of Links troops arrived and ran head on into the mass of enemies that now flooded the streets of Castle Town. The battle that would decide the fate of the kingdom had begun.

* * *

Malon ran deeper into the forest, running blindly not knowing where she was going. Curse her luck she thought as she held her bleeding arm with her hand. Trying to take a break a minute ago was the stupidest thing she could have done. Just as she sat down on a log to rest she heard a howl behind and jumped forward to start running, but not before she felt a pain run through her arm. The wolfos had missed her body but had torn through her arm, the blood poring from the wound. She had to find that village that Link had taken her to once; she might be able to get some help there. She remembered that Link had brought her there once before to visit their friend Saria but she couldn't remember the path to the village. She saw a bridge in front of her and remembered it from that visit. She was going in the right direction. She ran across the bridge and arrived in a clearing filled with houses made out of the trunks of trees. She had made it… she started to slow her pace from a sprint to a jog to a walk but as she started walking towards one of the houses her legs finally collapsed from under her and she fell to the ground.

She tried to lift herself but collapsed again under the strain. Malon stayed where she lay, to tired to move and too exhausted to try.

* * *

Saria was busy getting ready for bed when she heard the ringing of chimes. Somebody must have just crossed the bridge into the village. She had placed the bells on the bridge so that she could hear when Link came to visit. It couldn't be him could it? It was way too late for even Link to be out and about. She scampered out of the door to her house to see who was coming. She saw a woman running into the village. The women started to slow to a walk but then collapsed in a heap on the ground.

It reminded her of when Link had been brought into her life by his mother. She had run into the forest just as this woman had done. Saria quickly ran to where the women lay. She looked about twenty years old and had long red hair. Her clothes were torn in multiple areas, some had dark crimson stains starting to form. Her body was covered in cuts and bruises yet even with all of the bruising, she remembered this woman from somewhere, but couldn't place who it was. They never had any guests in the forest so why was it that she couldn't remember this woman. Saria bent down on her knees and looked closer at the woman trying to figure out who she was.

Malon heard footsteps approaching her and watched as a little girl with green hair ran up to her. It was her. It was Saria, the girl who Link had taken her to visit so many years ago. "Saria…is that you?"

Saria recognized the voice… "Malon? What happened to you?" Saria tried to help Malon to stand but Malon's limbs were totally limp from the energy she had expended just to get here.

"Hyrule…Invasion...Cimar…" Malon coughed as her body convulsed from the pain she was in.

Malon was making no sense. What did she mean by an invasion and who or what was this Cimar that she spoke of. "Malon, I'll be right back." Saria turned and ran to Mido's house and started knocking furiously.

"Mido! Mido. Come quickly, I need your help!" A candle flickered to life in the house and Mido opened the door. It looked like he was asleep when she had arrived.

"Mido, one of Links friends is here." Saria started to say. When Mido heard her say Links friends he started to close the door. "Wait Mido!" she put her foot in the door to stop it from closing.

"Tell them to come back later, better yet, tell them to not come back at all." He tried to close the door again but Saria still had her foot in the way.

"Mido its Malon, she is hurt and barely able to breath! She said something about Hyrule and an invasion." Her voice pleaded with Mido.

Mido instantly awakened. "What did you say? Invasion?"

"Yes, that is what she said. She is all cut up and has bruises all over her body and looks on the verge of death." Saria stated. Mido grabs the candle from off of his bed stand and asked Saria where she was and the pair ran to where Malon was. By the looks of it she had tried to get up again but had fallen onto her back again. She was staring at the sky above, her chest barely moving up and down from her breathing.

Malon watched as Saria ran up to her, this time with another kokiri by her side.

"This is very bad…" the boy said to Saria. "Get the know-it-all brothers. They should know what to do. " She watched as Saria sprinted off towards one of the houses. The boy had placed the candle next to Malon and had started to look over her wounds trying to find where the most severe were. He found a deep gash running across her left arm that was bleeding badly and he quickly ripped a part of Malon's sleeve off and tied it around the opening to try and stop the bleeding.

Malon had to get her message out to this boy.

"Hyrule…attacked by Ganondorf's army." She coughed, her energy rapidly depleting. "They need…help…please…" Violent coughs started to rack her body as her vision started to blur. Did this boy hear her? Did he get the message? She could barely make him out standing above her…he seemed to be saying something to her…

"Stay awake, try to stay awake…Saria, quickly she is starting to fade."

Malon couldn't hold her eyes open any more. She felt as her eyelids closed almost by themselves and felt a warm feeling starting to spread through her body.

"Cimar…" she whispered as she felt the last of her energy started to trickle away…she saw a light starting to appear before her and it grew larger and larger and closer and closer until it took up her whole view. She saw a man and a woman walking out of the light towards her. It was her parents. They motioned as if beckoning her to come to them and as she started walking towards them, her feelings of worry and dread disappeared. She walked into the arms of her mother and held her tightly in her arms.

"I've missed you dear…" Yusane whispered in her daughter's ear.

"I've missed you too mom…" Malon whispered through her tears.

Yusane looked down at her daughter. "I know you want to be with us, but it is not yet your time." Malon looked up at her mother, sadness filling her eyes. "But I want to be with both of you."

Talon looked down at her and smiled. "That is only what you are thinking now. There are still those who are waiting, hoping for your return, especially one in particular. You do have a purpose in the realm of the living, and that purpose is to help the one man who will need you the most."

Malon looked back up to her father and smiled; knowing that what he said was true. Her parents gave her one last hug then started to walk away from her and when they had almost gone from view, Talon turned around and yelled one last thing to his daughter.

"Malon, remember your friends and those you need you and you will have happiness until the day that we meet again." Her parents disappeared from her view as the light started to fade again and she felt the damp ground beneath her body. She was back…and she had finally knew her purpose in life. She coughed and felt her body racked from the exertion. She was alive…but for how long.

* * *

Zelda was watching the battle from the gates of the castle since she had heard an explosion and ran outside to see what happened. Just as she had reached the castle gates, she had seen another explosion, this one at the far eastern edge of the town walls and hoped that Link hadn't been caught in it. While her gaze was focused on the battle, she didn't notice the soldier running up to her.

"Ah, Zelda," He gasped hunched over a little and panting from his running. "Link needs help down at the wall. They have breached the town walls and have started to pour into the city. Link needs reinforcements quickly."

Zelda stared at the young man. Did she really want to tell him the truth? She sighed deeply, knowing that it was really the only thing she could tell this man.

"We don't have any extra men that we could send to the town." The young mans mouth hung open. "All five thousand of our troops have been stationed in the town and the last 500 that we have are here at the castle." Zelda started to think about the situation. She knew that Link and Cimar could handle almost any threat but one that was this size? The teenager started to turn around to head back to tell Link the news but Zelda stopped him. "I want you to stay here for a few more minutes. I want you to be the messenger between my husband and I." The soldier nodded his acceptance, "Yes, your highness."

Zelda could now hear some of the fighting going on in the town. A few of the buildings had started to smolder and smoke began to appear rising above them. She hoped that Link wasn't in the middle of the battle but knowing him, there was no where else he would be…

* * *

Link had just finished slicing through a lizafos before dodging a wide slash from a stalfos. He rolled around behind his enemy jumped up and dropped his sword through the stalfos's skull, splitting it into two. He stopped for a second to see where he was needed next while dodging another lizafos and kicking the offending monster, knocking it backwards before he performed an ending blow, ending the creature's life. Sastur was fighting off two lizafos over near one of the houses. One of them lunged forward at him, trying to bite him with its fangs. Sastur dodged it and brought his sword down over the monsters neck, breaking it instantly. The second lizafos swung at him but Sastur used the monsters dead companion to stop the attack but still fell backwards from the impact and watched as the monster raised it sword above its head. Just as it was about to slice down at him, he saw a figure kick the monster in the side of its head, knocking it to the ground. Link got back to his feet and finished off the creature by performing a great spin, also killing three other stalfos that were in the area.

"Thanks Link."

"No problem Sastur." Link looked around. The entire town was becoming a battlefield. Soldiers and gorons were fighting the endless hordes of lizafos, stalfos and wolfos that kept coming through the gap in the wall. Link and Sastur were fighting in the one of the back alleys near the central plaza of the town which was now almost vacated by monsters.

"Sastur, where is Cimar? I haven't seen him since the battle started."

They heard a door smash apart on their left and turned to attack as Cimar appeared, holding several dozen items that appeared to be mice but were black and blue with fuses attached to them.

"Cimar what in Hyrule do you think you are doing?" Cimar grinned. "Well, I ended up being pushed through a window back there and ended up in a shop. I saw all of these laying around so I thought that we could put them to good use." Now Link and Sastur were starting to smile.

"I think that you should begin sharing you know." Link said as he grabbed a couple of the bombchus and stuffed them in his pockets.

"Oh I will, but just after we raid the bomb shop around here. I think we will need every advantage we can get." As Cimar finished, the trio heard a clanking sound coming from one end of the alleyway. They turned to the sound of the noise and watched as a huge sword started to come into view, followed by a knight in black armor that was taller than any of them.

"Why did they have to have Iron Knuckles?" Link sighed as he shook his head. He really wasn't in the mood to have to expend the energy necessary to fight those behemoths. Luckily for him, Cimar had expended all the energy he needed for this fight. Link heard a fizzle and looked down to see one of the bombchu running along the alley, heading straight towards the evil knight who didn't even see it until he smashed it under his foot. An explosion ripped through the alleyway filling it with smoke and debris and when it cleared, the Iron Knuckle was gone, incinerated by the blast.

Link smiled, they had to get these bombchu out to the rest of the soldiers. There were bound to be more Iron Knuckles out there that they would have to fight.

"Come on, the Bazaar always had bombs on sale we can find everything that you need there." The trio started running out of the ally and into the main plaza. Soldiers and gorons were everywhere busying erecting barriers trying to keep the enemy away from them all the while fighting the monsters who were continually advancing. They looked down towards the main castle gates and saw a hoard of lizafos and iron knuckles running straight towards the barrier. They ran down to where the soldiers were waiting for the monsters and started handing out the bombchus. The soldiers grinned at what they were being told to do and since this was the only avenue that you could get to the castle by, Link wanted to make sure that they had ever advantage they could get in holding it.

The soldiers started lighting the bombchus and sent them scurrying towards their targets. Several explosions followed as the screams of the lizafos told them that the bombchus had found their targets. As Link, Cimar and Sastur ran towards the Bazaar, they heard the soldiers laughing at the fun they were having with the tiny explosives. Link hoped that they didn't use too many, otherwise they might not be around long enough to laugh anymore…

* * *

A few minutes after Tarlton had gotten Link's message to Zelda, she watched as another explosion rocked Castle Town in one of the back alleys. A minute later she watched a line of explosions appeared near the entrance of the main plaza of the city followed one after the other by more and more. She was starting to become very worried about what was going on…

"Tarlton," she said, the boy quickly turning to face her. "I want you to run to the main plaza and try to find Link. Tell him to have everyone retreat back to the castle. They will be more able to defend themselves behind the castle walls."

"Yes your highness," was his reply as he ran off back to the town. Zelda stared back at the town as more explosions brightened the sky. Goddesses, please protect my Link she thought as more explosions lit up the darkened sky.

* * *

Dark Link was smiling malevolently. With all of the planning that his enemies had put into defending their town, they had forgotten about this one small thing. He had left the battlefield after the wall had been breached with thirty of his elite fighters since most of the hylians would now be occupied with the defense of the town. All of his men were incredibly skilled in the art of warfare since most of them had been mercenaries before he had found them.

He stood behind the castle near a grove of trees that went right up to the castle walls. It would be a simple task of climbing the trees and jumping inside the castle walls, after that he could focus on the real target of this attack. He smiled when he went over the plan in his head once more. Yes, this would surely speed things up if he succeeded.

Dark Link motioned for his men to begin climbing the trees nearest to the wall. He started up one of the trees himself just as his first man was jumping across to the wall.

"HEY! HALT! Who are you? Guards! Intruders on the north side! Intruders on…" his yell was interrupted by the mercenary stabbing him through the stomach and snapping his neck in one effortless motion.

Dark Link silently cursed, his men might be good but why did it seem like they were so stupid… The man who jumped across first didn't think to check to see if a guard was watching and he had lost the element of surprise now. He ordered the rest of his men to quickly scale the wall and hurry into the castle. By now several guards had reacted to the shouting and had started running towards Dark Links men. Several of the guards carried bows and began picking off a few of his men when they landed on the wall. He heard a scream and looked to his right as one of his men fell, an arrow piercing his heart. His perfectly planned ambush was turning into a disaster.

He had finally made it over the wall and jumped to the ground below. He ran at the guards and started to cut them down one by one when he heard a horn being blown somewhere in the castle and saw more soldiers starting to run in his direction. With only 23 of his soldiers remaining he had to think of some way to get in to find his target. He spied a door leading inside the castle. He yelled to his remaining troops to head for the door and started running towards it. Several more Hylian soldiers brought out their bows and took down five more of Dark Links mercenaries before they reached the door. Just then, a gigantic explosion could be heard which shook the ground causing everyone to stumble. It was a lucky break for Dark Link since it caused the soldiers pursuing him to stop and turn to see where the explosion had come from. He reached the door and rammed it open rushing inside. He had to find the throne room quickly since that was the most likely place to find who he was looking for.

* * *

The bomb shop had been emptied as well as the bombchu bowling game and a large pile of bombs was placed in the center of the square where the soldiers could easily reach it. Cimar had suggested that they have the remaining gorons throw the bombs since they could throw them farther than any of the soldiers could while Link crafted a unique device allowing for bombs to be placed on his arrows. The area just south of the plaza was in ruins…the remains of monsters littering the ground before disappearing forever while the buildings on either side were in flames from the explosions the bombs were created. A crater was beginning to form from the impact of the bombs where the street had once been. The enemy still came at them although were having a hard time trying to run through the debris that filled the street and crater…

Out of the entire Hylian army there were only a few hundred including most of the men that Link had trained in the square. He could no longer hear the sound of battle coming from the other parts of the town so he knew that these men where all that were left. He spied a lizafos that was trying to clamber over an overturned wagon but had gotten caught. He pulled back his bow and fired a bomb-arrow and was welcomed by a blast the tore the enemy apart.

"Sir, Sir I have a message from Zelda." Link turned to see Tarlton running back at him. "What is it?" Link asked.

Tarlton stopped to catch his breath for a second before continuing. "Zelda wants you back at the castle; she says to have the men retreat back to the castle for protection…"

Link paused for a second, letting this new order sink in. He knew that they would have to abandon this position sooner or later since they would run out of bombs at some point. He looked back towards the barricade and saw as his men reduced another wave of monsters into new debris littering the street. His gaze fell upon the stack of bombs in the center of the square and his mind started to from an idea.

"Tarlton, run back to Zelda and tell her that we will be coming shortly." With a nod, Tarlton ran back up the path to the castle to inform Zelda that Link was having his men fall back.

Link ran up to the barricade and ordered his men to fall back to the castle. They stared at him for a second wondering why he would do something like that when they had a perfectly safe position here. Link ordered them again to fall back and that they were needed at the castle. His men quickly vacated their positions and started to run back to castle to regroup. Cimar and Sastur who heard Link shouting ran over to him as Link waited to make sure that all of his men had left the area.

"What is your plan," yelled Cimar over the sound of their men retreating up the path. Link startled them both by turning around and running up the path himself. The two looked at each other and sprinted after Link not wanting to be left behind to deal with all of the monsters by themselves. When the three were about 500 yards from the town square and halfway up the large hill leading to the castle, Link turned around and notched an arrow in his bow. It would be the longest shot he had ever made but he hoped that it would work. By this time, the plaza was filled Ganondorf's minions. Link spied his target, stretched back his bow and fired.

Link's bomb arrow flew exactly where he wanted it to go and was well rewarded for it for his target was the pile of bombs that still were piled in the middle of the square. A gigantic explosion shook the ground and the shockwave knocked the trio onto their backs as a huge plume of fire shot into the sky while the explosion tore through houses, monsters and everything within 200 yards. Several secondary explosions could be heard as several more bombs exploded. Smoke and debris filled the pathway that Link, Cimar and Sastur were in causing them to choke from breathing it in. As soon as most of the haze had cleared and they had gotten back on their feet, Cimar slapped Link on the back of the head.

"Why didn't you warn us you were going to do that!" He yelled, extremely irritated by what Link had done.

Link scratched the back of his head and had a shocked expression on his face.

"Sorry, I guess I kind of forgot to do that didn't I…" he started to smile and quickly broke into laugh. Cimar did not find it quite so funny but looked over to see Sastur breaking into a grin of his own. The trio stared back down the path towards Castle Town as the smoke began to clear; their smiles instantly gone from their faces. They thought that they could recognize where the central plaza had been but all that was left now was a crater 100 feet wide and 50 feet deep. Every building in the central part of the city had been blown apart, the only remains being bits and pieces of wood and metal that was laying on the ground. The buildings that had not been knocked down by the blast were completely engulfed in flames which had started to spread across the entire town. Within a few minutes the entire town was an inferno, every building feeding the unquenchable fire. As it spread, the fire engulfed the rest of the creatures who had entered the city destroying the last remnants of the massive army Dark Link had assembled. The trio remembered that they were wanted back at the castle and starting running back up the path, away from the desolation that was once castle town.

* * *

Zelda watched as the last of the troops ran through the castle gates. She had scanned the faces of all of them and had not seen Link or Cimar. Tarlton had told her that he said he was coming but still she wondered where they could be. She heard a horn being blown in the castle and heard someone yelling "Intruders on the North wall! Intruders on the north wall!" She turned to the troops that had just arrived and ordered them to find the intruders. They rushed to the north side of the castle while Zelda again focused her attention towards the south to the path that led up from Castle Town. A minute later she heard an explosion and felt the ground shake, almost knocking her off her feet. She watched as a huge fireball burst through the sky the ground shaking with secondary explosions that followed just seconds after the first.

"Oh, goddesses please say Link wasn't in that…" a minute later, as she stared down the path to town, her wish came true as Link, Cimar and Sastur jogged up the path leading to the castle.

**Long chapter but I hope you enjoyed it.**


	12. Chapter 11: Sacrifice

**Chapter 11**

**Sacrifice**

"Where is she!"

"I…will…not….tell!" Dark Link tightened his grip around the man's neck. "Do I need to repeat myself or did I not make myself clear! WHERE IS SHE!"

"Never…" the soldier managed to cough out before his body went limp and his struggling ceased. Dark Link dropped him to the floor where he landed in a heap. This was the third guard that had given him no information to where Zelda was. After he had gotten inside the castle with the remaining fourteen of his men they had almost instantly been discovered. Now all but four of his men lay dead in the many corridors of the castle and he had still not found the information he wanted. He heard footsteps approaching and he quickly entered an unoccupied room where he had his men hide and closed the door.

The footsteps grew louder until they stopped next to the door. He heard voices coming from outside and moved closer to the door to see if he could hear who it was.

"He's dead, just like the other two."

"We need to inform the king and princess that Dark Link is loose in the castle."

"The king has already been informed and has been moved to his room and has several dozen guards with him. Zelda is outside near the castle gates waiting for Link to return. She should be fine out there if Dark Link is still in the castle."

He heard their footsteps as they hurried off in the opposite direction that they came. When their footsteps died away, Dark Link opened the door and motioned for his men to follow him. So, princess Zelda was at the entrance of the castle eh? He smiled wickedly his mind already putting the last bits of his plan together. He didn't come all the way to Hyrule to visit and not see the princess, he had better visit her. As he and his men ran down the hallways towards the castle entrance he had another idea pop into his head…maybe he should wait for Link to show up when he would pay Zelda a visit. His grin broadened. Yes that was what he would do…he wanted to see what Links reaction would be when he murdered Zelda before his eyes. He started to quicken his pace down the hallways. He didn't have much time left before Link might show up.

* * *

Link was a hundred yards away from the castle entrance when he saw Zelda running towards him. He ran forward and she jumped in his arms in joy, tears starting to form at the edges of her eyes. She gave him a hug and then kissed him twice; holding his face in her hands. He was almost completely covered in soot and ash. He could have passed for Dark Link if it wasn't for his calm blue eyes.

"I didn't see you come up with the rest of the troops and when I saw the explosion I…I…" she stopped as Link gave her a hug and smiled back at her

"You shouldn't worry like that, Zel…you should know by now that I always come back to you. Always." Link kissed her and they embraced again. Sastur rolled his eyes while Cimar stood in his place trying to find other things to look at besides the two people in front of him. The rain started to let up and for the first time that night, the moon started to appear through the clouds. The only sound that was heard was the crackling of the fires that still burnt throughout Castle Town. The battle was over, or so they thought.

The peace was interrupted though. A sharp clanging of swords sounded in the courtyard followed by another. Link let go of Zelda and looked up to the castle. Whatever had just happened had ended and Link wanted to know what it was. Cimar had already started up the path, unsheathing his sword while Sastur did the same and started following Cimar. Link let go of Zelda's hand and unsheathed the master sword and his shield. He started after Cimar with Zelda following right behind him, her rapiers already in her hands ready for use.

The four reached the central courtyard within seconds and saw what had happened. There were three men standing in the center of the courtyard with swords drawn. Two guards lay on the ground dead along with a third man who was dressed like the three standing around him. The men heard footsteps and turned to see who was approaching them. Link started forward to face the men when he heard laughing coming from behind one of the trees in the courtyard.

"It is good to see you again Link. I'm glad that you could all make it tonight, for a second I thought you weren't going to show…how silly of me." Dark Link was leaning against the tree staring at Link. "I'm quite glad that we are having this little reunion, although I'm afraid I'll have to cut it short…" he snapped his fingers and the three men standing near the doors to the castle charged after Link. Cimar and Sastur walked up next to him and smiled.

"So Link, can we each have one?" asked Sastur.

"With pleasure" was the reply.

The man charging at Link swung his sword in the air and brought it down on Links head. Link brushed it off effortlessly with the master sword and then sliced the man across the chest. The man gritted his teeth in pain as Link pressed forward his attack. Link slashed, pretending to slice at the man from the right and his enemy prepared to counter the blow, however, Link in mid swing turned around and brought the full force of the master sword into the mans left, almost slicing him half even with the chain mail he was wearing. Link looked up to watch as Sastur and Cimar finished with their opponent and then directed his attention to Dark Link, only to find that he was gone.

"Link! I need some help over here!" It was Zelda. He turned to see that while the three of them were busy, Dark Link had started to attack Zelda. Zelda blocked a slice from Dark Link with one of her rapiers, and then brought the other one smashing down onto Dark Link who deflected it with his shield. Link started to run towards Zelda but stopped suddenly when a wall of flames burst from the ground in front of him. He skidded to a stop just in front of the flames.

"I will have no interruptions Link! I want you to watch as your Zelda dies in front of your eyes." Dark Link yelled as he took another swipe at Zelda who jumped backwards just in time to dodge the blow. Zelda again attacked at Dark Link this time bringing both swords around time and time again like a windmill, each more powerful than the last. Dark Link blocked them with his shield and then tried to swipe at Zelda who in her last turn swung both swords down at the man in front of her. All three swords clashed together, creating a shower of sparks as they grated against each other.

"You can't win you highness." Dark Link sneered. "I'm as powerful as Link is, nah, even more powerful."

"I seriously doubt that," replied Zelda her teeth grinding together as she started to push Dark Links sword against him, cutting into his shoulder. "You have the same flaws as my husband…you could never beat a woman!" With that she kicked Dark Link in the groan causing him to gasp and then brought the hilts of her rapiers together and swung them into the front of his face. He arched backwards through the air, spitting blood as he landed on the ground.

* * *

Link was stunned. A minute ago he was fearing for Zelda's life but now… He couldn't believe that she had Dark Link at her mercy and in so little time. He watched as Zelda started to walk towards her opponent who was just starting to get up. She brought her rapier up to Dark Links throat. What was she doing? She couldn't give that monster any time to recover. He had to find a way through this barrier that kept him from helping his wife.

Blood dripped from his mouth as Dark Link tried to stand up. He looked up and stared directly into the tip of one of Zelda's swords. She was standing over him, with one of her rapiers just millimeters from his throat. She motioned for him to stand, which he did, glaring at her with his crimson eyes that were filled with venom and spite.

"I believe that you are keeping that wall of flames that is keeping my husband away from you is that correct?" Zelda asked. "I think that he would like to talk with you, turn it off!"

Dark Link stared back at her; she pushed her rapier closer to his neck, causing a small trickle of blood to appear right above his collar. "I said to stop it, now don't make me ask again."

He stared back at her his mouth turning slightly, "Trust me highness, you won't have too." Before she could react Dark Link jumped backwards and shot a ball of energy at Zelda. She tried to block it with her swords and as it made contact with her rapiers it exploded, sending Zelda flying backwards into a pillar at one end of the courtyard. She hit the pillar about ten feet up and with such force that a crack started to form in the marble, spreading throughout the column. She fell face first onto the ground and lay there. She tried to get up, but fell back to the ground. Dark Link began to laugh, its sound echoing around the courtyard. He walked over to where his sword lay and picked it up, twirling it around in his hand as he walked towards the princess.

Zelda was trying to stand again when she felt a kick to her side and was sent to the ground again. "You put up quite the fight princess but you know how this will end." She tried to get up again but the effort was met with another kick to her side which sent her sprawling again this time landing on her back. She looked up to see Dark Link's sword coming straight towards her and rolled to the side just before it slammed into the ground where she had just been. She looked up and saw another attempt by Dark Link to stab her and rolled sweeping her leg around catching Dark Link by surprise. He stumbled and fell to the ground giving enough time for Zelda to retrieve her rapiers. She grabbed them and looked up to see Dark Link's fist slam against her face.

"I told you that anything you did was useless." Dark Link said as he watched Zelda wipe the blood from her mouth. Zelda took up her defensive stance again and faced Dark Link as he chuckled; at least she was making this fun for him.

* * *

Link couldn't stand this anymore. He had tried most everything in trying to get through the barrier but everything had failed. He only had one idea left and thought that it would be incredibly painful but it was worth a shot.

"Cimar I want you to put that shield that you can create around yourself up."

"Why? What will that do?" Cimar responded, unsure of what Link was planning.

"Just do it!" Link yelled back as he stood in between Cimar and the flame barrier. "Do you have it up now?"

"Yes" it is up, what are you doing?" Cimar asked. "The only thing I can think of right now," was Link's reply as he started to charge up the Master Sword.

He wasn't doing what he thought he was doing, Cimar thought as he watched Link release the energy that had built up in his sword. He felt as Link's sword made contact with his energy shield and watched as Link was blasted backwards…and through the flames…

"So that was his plan…" Cimar thought as he watched Link get up and shake his head. Sastur was standing next to Cimar and was stunned. He turned to Cimar and they both thought the same thing. That man was crazy.

* * *

Zelda had blocked another attack by Dark Link barely in time. One of her arms was hanging by her side, the victim of another one of his energy attacks over a minute ago. With each passing second, he had become more powerful and Zelda was having a horrible time trying to fight him. She knew she was losing, and prayed that Link could somehow get to her in time.

Dark Link followed his attack with a kick to Zelda's stomach sending her flying backwards into the same pillar that she had been knocked into before. She slid down into a sitting position being propped up by the pillar when she heard a large crack tear through the air. She looked up to see the pillar starting to splinter and finally break under the strain. It started to fall, directly on top of her as she screamed and tried to move out of the way.

* * *

Link shook his head, trying to get rid of the sensation that hitting Cimar's shield had caused. He looked around to see where Zelda was and saw her as she was kicked in the stomach and sent backwards into a pillar. He started to run towards her when he heard a loud crack and watched as the pillar started to collapse. He heard his wife scream and cover her head as the pillar came crashing down onto the ground, shattering into hundreds of pieces. He ran past Dark Link not noticing him at all and ran to where the remains of the pillar were. He started digging frantically trying to find his wife in the ruble. He pushed a piece of marble over and found his wife. He saw that she was still breathing but it was labored and intermittent. He grabbed her in his arms and she stared up at him, her face pale and eyes dim.

"Zelda, Zelda! Stay with me Zel, stay with me!" He begged hoping that his words alone would save her.

"Link…" Zelda mumbled, coughing violently just from the exertion it took to talk.

"I'm here Zelda, please hold on. I can help you. I can save you!" Link pleaded.

"Link, do not worry about me…" she coughed again, this time blood started to trickle from the ends of her mouth. "I want you to know something…" She lifted her hand and touched Links face with it. "I will still love you in death, just as I did in life."

"No, Zelda don't say things like that! You will survive! I won't let you die!" Tears started running down his face. Zelda smiled slightly, "I know you wouldn't Link…but it is not up to you…" tears started to trickle down Zelda's face. "I want you to know one last…thing…I will…always…love…you…Always…" Zelda's eyes started to close as her hand dropped from Link's face.

"No…no…please, come back to me…please, you can't leave me!" Link's body started to tremble from the pain as he tried to find a pulse but found nothing. His scream echoed through the entire castle grounds filling all who heard it with the agony he felt. Zelda was dead.

**I'm thinking some of you hate me for that last part…**


	13. Chapter 12: Ultimate Betrayals

**Chapter 12**

**Ultimate Betrayals **

Dark Link watched as Link held Zelda in his arms and sobbed. It was touching to see that he had caused so much anguish in Link's life and he was thoroughly enjoying himself now.

"Isn't it a site to behold, and I thought that it would take a little more time to kill her. Such as pity and I was having so much fun too." Link laid Zelda back on the ground and stood up turning to face Dark Link, his eyes burning with fury.

"You will die, and you will die a slow and painful death for what you just did." Link said as he started to walk towards his foe, unsheathing his sword as he spoke.

"I wouldn't waste your energy on someone like me you know, especially since Zelda was one of the sages that had imprisoned Ganondorf. Now that she is dead, the seal is broken and Ganondorf can return." Link stopped. That was true, with his wife gone; her power that powered the seal keeping Ganondorf locked away would be gone as well. Lightning cracked across the sky and a fierce wind started to blow through the courtyard.

"He is coming as we speak you know. I am pretty sure he would like to meet with you again." Link heard a loud crackle as a portal started to open near where Dark Link was standing. A man in black armor stepped out and onto the ground, inhaling deeply as if he had not breathed in a long time. Ganondorf had returned...

* * *

Ganondorf smiled as he breathed in the air of Hyrule again. It was nice to be back in the lands that he had wanted so much to control. He saw Dark Link walk up to him and kneel before him.

"My thanks to you. Without you I never would have been able to return here. If only the rest of my servants could be as trusted as you have been." Ganondorf looked around and spotted Link, a cruel smile etched onto his face. "And my old friend Link is even here too. Now I don't have to go looking for you. All we need now is the annoying princess Zelda and my revenge can be completed in one night." He stared at Link, "Now tell me where she is and I will make your death somewhat painless."

Link stared back at Ganondorf, hatred flooding his veins, the words he spoken deepening the wound that had just been inflicted upon his heart.

"She is dead Ganondorf and is lying right over there," Dark Link said as he pointed towards the destroyed pillar. Ganondorf spied the ruins of the column and saw Zelda's body beside it. "You might also want to know that she was married to Link as well if that makes her death any more pitiful." Ganondorf's eyes widened and his smile deepened.

"Well, well, well this puts a whole new perspective on the situation." He looked back towards Link. "I guess that is why you are so angry, losing someone who does nothing but complain can do that to you." Link gritted his teeth, trying to hold back his temper. He needed every wit about him when he fought Ganondorf and did not want to be blinded by anger. Ganondorf saw the anger build and prodded Link some more. "Don't worry you will be joining her shortly. I always found her to be the more wretched of the two of you anyways." Ganondorf unsheathed his sword. "This time, at least I don't have to worry about her pestering me although I would have liked to kill the brat myself." He watched Link trying his best to hold in his temper. He had better not push him to far he decided.

"Well, let's begin then shall we? I've been awaiting this day for a long time." Ganondorf charged at Link and swung his sword down while Link brought his up to counter the blow. Their swords connected, sparks sent flying through the air. The battle had begun. Link was fighting for his wife while Ganondorf was fighting for revenge. It would end when one of them would die.

* * *

Cimar watched as the battle progressed between Link and Ganondorf. He had sent Sastur to warn the king of Ganondorf's return but warned him not to tell him of Zelda's death. He had run off into the castle and Cimar had returned his gaze towards the battle before him. He wanted to help but the barrier in front of him kept him out. The only thing he could do was watch and pray that Link could defeat both of his foes.

* * *

Another pillar collapsed as Ganondorf struck it with his sword. Link had leapt out of the way at the last second to escape from the blow and looked back to his opponent. Ganondorf's sword had become stuck in the marble. Link took advantage of this and attacked him although Ganondorf managed to free his blade and block Link's attack at the last second. Link ducked again as Ganondorf attacked and got up quickly to slice at Ganondorf's legs. Ganondorf noticed the attack a second too late. The master sword sliced through half of his lower left leg before he brought his sword up to block. Link back flipped away as the evil king swung at him with his fist.

"You have gotten better boy" he said as he looked down at his leg. "It still won't help you in the end. Nobody can defeat me." Link ran and jumped at Ganondorf, swinging the master sword over his head. Ganondorf blocked the attack and then brought his hand up around Link's throat.

"As I said, nothing can help you now…" as he dropped his sword and smashed his fist into Link's stomach. Link gasped at the pain as a bit of blood flew from his mouth. Ganondorf reached back to hit him again but Link kicked him in the face, causing the hold on his neck to be released. He dropped to the ground and backed away from Ganondorf as he finally was able to breathe again. Ganondorf was holding his nose which was bleeding profusely now from Link's attack. He reached down for his sword and put it back into its sheath at his side.

"It looks like you aren't just going to die are you." Ganondorf said as he cracked his broken nose back into place. "I guess this calls for a little more power then…" Ganondorf began gathering energy into his hand and fired it at Link who reflected it back at Ganondorf with the Master Sword. Ganondorf knocked the energy away with a swat of his hand and watched as it blasted apart part of the wall surrounding the castle. He quickly charged up two more balls of dark energy and blasted them at Link who with a little more trouble than the last time deflected both back at Ganondorf. The evil king started to laugh as he fired blast after blast at Link who had gone from reflecting them back at him to trying to dodge as many as he could.

He was having trouble dodging the energy being directed at him. He knocked a blast away and then ducked behind a pillar as another blast tore apart the ground where he was just standing.

"Why are you hiding Link? Are you scared of my power? Are you frightened of joining your wife?" Link heard the pillar behind him explode into pieces and Link rolled out of the way before it collapsed on top of him. He rolled to his feet and looked to wear Ganondorf was standing who already had two more blasts of energy ready to throw at Link.

"Well, it's been fun but now you will die!" Link watched as Ganondorf threw back his arms and prepared to launch the energy at him. He was surprised when a blast of white energy smashed into Ganondorf knocking him to the ground.

"I got him for you Link!" Cimar yelled as he fired off another blast from his hand, this time aimed at Dark Link who barely saw it in time and managed to dodge it at the last second. He fired off a few more aimed at Dark Link who was now jumping around madly trying to avoid all of them. He grinned as he fired off a few more, this time at Ganondorf who had barely gotten back up on his feet. Ganondorf saw the first one coming and evaded but the second caught him square in the chest sending him sailing across the courtyard again. He thanked the goddesses that the Ameon had given him powers such as this as he finally realized how he could help his friend during this battle.

* * *

Dark Link had loathed Cimar before but now he really hated him and asked himself why he ever spared that man from death back in Turalis. He dodged another burst and thought of an idea. If Link had done it, why shouldn't he be able to? He withdrew his sword and waited for when the next energy burst to arrive. He watched Cimar aim and fire at him but this time instead of dodging, he swung his sword at the ball, knocking it back at Cimar. Cimar didn't have time to react and was caught by the energy in his chest, knocking him to the ground. Dark Link saw that Cimar didn't stand back up right away but lay on the ground. He must have knocked out by his own blast Dark Link thought laughing at the irony. He turned back to watch the fight between Ganondorf and Link waiting for the victor to be decided before he made his move.

Link sliced downward at Ganondorf and caught a piece of his shoulder before the blow was parried. Link silently thanked Cimar for his aim since he had seriously weakened Ganondorf. The two blasts had taken a lot of energy out of Ganondorf, who was now gasping for breath. The second blast had bent his chest plate inward a little, making it harder for him to breath yet he couldn't take it off otherwise Link would kill him while he tried to take it off. Link had started to take the advantage and slowly started pushing Ganondorf back. Link charged up the master sword and performed a spin attack. The evil king blocked each of the sword strikes but was so weakened by the wound on his leg and shoulder that he started to stumble backwards.

Link saw he chance. He quickly reached in his pocket and withdrew a deku nut, smashing it to the ground. The flash blinded Ganondorf, causing him to drop his sword and cover his eyes. Link jumped forward into Ganondorf, landing a kick directly into his chest causing Ganondorf to fall backwards with Link directly above him. Link twirled the master sword in his hands and stabbed downward as Ganondorf hit the ground. The power of the impact and the force of the thrust plunged the Master sword straight through Ganondorf's armor and body and impaled him to the ground.

Ganondorf gasped at the pain that spread through his body and let out a scream as Link landed right beside him and stared down at him grabbing the hilt of the master sword.

"I remember you saying something about my wife Ganondorf." Link said as he twisted the master sword ever so slightly. Pain searing through the evil thief's body. He gritted his teeth trying to keep the pain from showing. Link pressed on.

"I remember you calling her annoying, wretched, a brat." At each word, Link twisted his sword a little more and at the last one he yanked the master sword out completely.

"Now you will die a slow death for what you said about her." Link walked away from Ganondorf and leaned against one of the surviving pillars to catch his breath. He watched as Dark Link walked over to Ganondorf. Link wanted to attack him but right now he had no energy to and just waited to see what would happen.

* * *

This was the moment he had been waiting for. Dark Link walked up to where Ganondorf lay on the ground. "Do you need anything?" he asked a slight sneer on his face.

"Po…power…" replied Ganondorf choked as his breathing became even more irregular.

"You want power? I guess I can give you a little power." Dark Link held his sword in his hand. "Yes I can give you the power to leave Hyrule."

Ganondorf's eyes widened in shock as Dark Link stabbed downward straight through his heart. "You..trai..tor.." he gasped coughing up blood as he spoke.

Dark Link leaned down and whispered in Ganondorf's ear. "I would have had to serve you at some point to be a traitor." Ganondorf chocked one last time before his eyes closed. The evil king was dead, killed by a combination of light and darkness. Dark Link chuckled and lifted up one of Ganondorf's hands. "I believe you owe me something." A light started to grow on the back of Ganondorf's now lifeless hand. Lightning cracked across the sky as thunder roared across the lands. The rain began to beat down more furiously than before. Lightning struck the ground where Dark Link was. Then another hit him almost as if he was absorbing the power of the lightning itself. He screamed in pain as the power surged through his body. The earth shook and the heavens roared with thunder. The triforce of power had found a new master and the earth and heavens quaked with fear…

* * *

Link couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. Dark Link had killed his master or was he never his master to begin with? The rain was making it harder to see Dark Link who was standing in a trance like state after receiving the triforce of power, lightning still striking him every few seconds. Link saw an opportunity to run and took it. There was no way he could fight Dark Link right now if he absorbed the triforce of power and in this rain. He saw Cimar who was crouching near Zelda's body. Link ran over to him.

"We need to get inside quickly while we can. With the storm going on I can barely even see Dark Link let alone fight him."

"Agreed." Cimar started to run for the castle as Link kneeled down and picked up the beaten body of his wife in his arms. He would not leave her out in this weather. He got to the door of the castle as quickly as he could and walked through the door that Cimar was holding open for him.

Once inside the castle they made a beeline for the throne room since it was in the center of the castle and Link was hoping there was somebody there. They crashed through the doors of the throne room, Link still carrying Zelda. A guard who was just about to head out one of the other doors in the room heard the commotion and turned to face where it had come from.

"Link, Cimar, thank the goddesses that you alright…" the guard stopped when he saw the bruised body of the princess in Link's arms. "Oh Nayru, is that Zelda?" Link laid his wife on a table near the side of the room and shook his head as the guard tried to check for a pulse.

"She is gone…Dark Link killed her and brought back Ganondorf with her death." Link said as he walked to a nearby chair and sat down, the first time in the last five hours he had gotten any rest from battle. He was drained of energy and just sat in the chair looking at his hands which were covered in the blood of his wife as he had carried her into the castle. He had no energy for tears. Why had the goddesses allowed this to happen? Link lowered his head his body shaking from everything that had happened in the past hour.

Link saw a flash of light and looked up to see Cimar holding his hand over Zelda's body, light flowing from his outstretched palm onto her body like it was a liquid. Beads of sweat started to appear on his forehead and his arm started to shake from the energy he was using.

"Cimar, what are you doing…she is dead." Link said his voice filled with sorrow. Cimar didn't stop what he was doing. Instead he focused more power and the light started to glow with an even greater ferocity. The light penetrated into Zelda's body and started to mend her wounds. The gash on her arm where Dark Link had sliced it was starting to close on its own, the scratches and bruises on her face started to heal. Link stared in disbelief. The light started to fade and Cimar withdrew his hand from over Zelda and started to collapse. Link ran over and grabbed him before he fell and helped him into a nearby chair.

"What was that you just did?" Link asked… Cimar caught his breath before answering.

"I don't honestly know myself." Cimar answered, looking extremely tired from what just happened. "I heard a voice in my head, telling me to raise my hand above her, so I did, and then the Ameon started to glow and light came out of it." Both of them heard a gasp coming from the table and turned to look. Link saw Zelda's chest rise up and down slowly once, twice. She was breathing again! He ran to her side and saw her eyes slowly open once and then close again. They fluttered open and Zelda started to turn her head towards Link.

"Link…where am I…" She started to sit up but started to collapse onto the table again. Link put his arms underneath her head and shoulders and helped her to a sitting position. He couldn't contain himself any longer and wrapped his arms around her in a hug.

"I thought I lost you forever…" he cried as she embraced him back.

"I thought I did too. How did I come back?" Zelda asked.

Link pointed over to Cimar, "He did something to you with the Ameon and whatever it did, it brought you back."

Zelda turned to Cimar, "Thank you for bringing me back from the void, I was almost beyond rescue when you saved me, thanks."

Their happiness was interrupted by a loud boom outside which caused the room to tremble. The room shook again as another boom sounded across the throne room.

"It must be Dark Link", Cimar stated as another boom echoed through the castle.

Link looked around the room then looked back to Zelda. "I lost you once and I won't lose you again." He said to Zelda quickly then turned to the nearby soldier. "You soldier, take Zelda to her father and order all remaining guards there as well. Tell everyone to stay away from the throne room."

"Yes sir! Zelda follow me." Zelda looked at Link, pleading with her eyes, begging for him to not have her go.

'Link let me stay, I can help."

"Zelda, please just do this one thing for me." He stared back at her; the same pleading expression on his face."

"Ok then…but not without one last thing." Zelda stood up and kissed Link with more passion then she had ever before. She stopped and then took his head in her hands. "That's for luck and for being who you are. Now beat that man who stole you away from me" she said as she hurried away, following the guard out of the throne room. He watched her go, wishing to re-live that moment for eternity.

**Hopefully you didn't see most of this chapter coming. At least I hope I wasn't too obvious...**


	14. Chapter 13: A Prophecy Fulfilled

**Chapter 13**

**A Prophecy Fulfilled**

Link and Cimar stood in the center of the throne room. The room was empty except for the table and chairs that Zelda had been placed on and the thrones where the King Hyrule and Zelda sat. They were waiting for Dark Link to arrive. They gripped their swords tightly in their hands, ready at a moments notice. They heard another boom echoed across the castle. The main doors of the throne room burst open and a dark cloud started to fill the room, smothering the candles throughout the room. As the room went dark, they heard a cackling laugh fill the entire chamber. The two were prepared for this situation since it was the same way Dark Link had come in the last time. Cimar held the hand that held the Ameon in the air. A small disc formed in the center of his palm slowly growing and starting to spin. Cimar smashed his hand to the ground creating a shockwave of light dissipating all of the black clouds that it touched. Link brought one of his hands behind him which started to glow with a red aura. He lifted the object in his hands forward and smashed it to the ground as well. All around him a sphere of fire grew, consuming all in its path. The two looked up to see that almost all of the clouds had disappeared and the several of the candles and lamps that lit the throne room had been relit by Din's Fire.

Link and Cimar heard clapping resonating throughout the room and stared towards the throne where they thought the sound was coming from. The last of the clouds dissipated and they saw Dark Link sitting on the kings throne clapping.

"Good show, good show. I think that you should do that more often." They stared at Dark Link, but was it really him? The power of the triforce had altered him. Before he had been almost an exact match of Link but now…

His black tunic had been replaced by black armor covering him from head to toe; his sword replaced by one that stood as large as the Biggorons sword that Link had and his hat was gone. The only thing that had not changed was his face. The cruelty and malice dancing in his eyes was the same as before. Dark Link smiled malevolently, eyeing the two people in front of him.

"I was wondering where you had gone, for a second I thought that you had run away," his expression changing to one of mock sadness, then he broke into another laugh. "That might have been the better decision to make you know. When I absorbed the triforce of power from Ganondorf, my power grew to heights that have never been scaled before, that coupled with the pain and suffering of this people, I have become even more powerful than the goddesses!" Lightning cracked outside and thunder shook the castle. "Even the earth and the heavens fear what I have become…" his words echoing around the room. "Do you still wish to fight?"

His answer was an energy blast from Cimar that he quickly smacked away with a flip of his hand. Dark Link smiled, "Good, I was hoping that was your answer."

Cimar fired another energy ball and watched as his blast connected with the throne and blast it apart but there was no Dark Link there. He heard a sound behind and started to look back when he felt a knee crash into his side and then a hilt of a sword smashing into his back sending him flying across the room. He slid to a stop and got up, shaking his head trying to think of what just happened. Link saw what happened to Cimar and heard a laugh echoing around the room then saw Dark Link appear less than two feet in front of him.

"Boo."

Dark Link smashed his fist into Link's face with such power that it sent him to the floor in an instant. He jumped to his feet but Dark Link was gone again. He started to look around but then turned around when he thought he heard a sound. Dark Link had his sword up and was bringing it down on Link when he blocked it with his shield. Link followed up with his own slash that was easily parried by his opponent. For a minute Link continued his assault with each attack meeting with the same results. Dark Link had begun to laugh all the while blocking each of Links attacks with ease causing Link to become even more enraged.

Link dropped to the floor after his last attack and tried to catch Dark Link off guard by knocking his legs out from under him with a sweeping kick. Dark Link leapt backwards to avoid the kick and then leapt back forward, kneeing Link in the chest as he was getting up. Link's body was forced up by the power of the attack and was met by a blast of charged up energy that hit him in the stomach. He was blown backward, his tunic burnt and his body filled with pain where the energy had hit him. He slid to a stop next to Cimar who helped him back up. Dark Link appeared in the center of the room, laughing at the fun he was having.

"Is that all you two have?" Dark Link scoffed. "I haven't even broken a sweat. Come on, give me a challenge, and if you aren't going to give me that, I might as well kill you outright."

Link whispered something to Cimar that he could barely hear. Cimar understood and grinned.

"I think I can do that, stay close though, otherwise you might be hit as well."

They watched as Dark Link disappeared again and they heard movement behind them. "Cimar, now!"

They were well rewarded when they heard a crackle and looked back to see Dark Link being blown backwards by Cimar's shield, his sword smoking in his hand. They both charged at their opponent while he was distracted. Dark Link saw them coming and blocked both of their swords at once. Dark Link smiled, "I guess it is time then." He threw their swords off of his and aimed a horizontal slice at both of them which Link countered while Cimar tried to attack while Dark Link was occupied.

Their battle raged for minutes with Link and Cimar on either side of Dark Link trying to get in the first hit with Dark Link parrying every blow although a little line of sweat had started to appear on his forehead. Dark Link decided to try something different. He slashed at Link which made him jump backwards to avoid it. When Link tried to rush forward, a wall of flames erupted in front of him as Dark Link turned and focused his attention on Cimar. Another minute went by and Cimar had been pushed back several yards. He was almost entirely on defense and barely had any time to think ahead. He blocked another strike and then tried to parry a horizontal slice aimed at his side. The impact of the blow jolted Cimar and he lost his balance for a second. It was too much time. Dark Link kicked Cimar in his side sending him flying against the wall of the throne room and then stabbed his sword into Cimar's shoulder.

Cimar screamed in pain as Dark Link pulled his sword out and let him drop to the floor. Dark Link let down the barrier preventing Link from joining the fight and turned away from Cimar. It was a mistake. Cimar charged energy in his hand and shot it at the retreating figure and hit Dark Link straight in the back causing him to stumble forward. Link had just arrived and slashed at Dark Links right, who noticed it and tried to block it. Link felt as the master sword made contact with his enemy's arm. The moment was short lived though as Dark Link smashed his fist into Link's face, sending him flying across the room.

"I have to admit that I am impressed that both of you still live." Dark Link said as he gripped his wound, the pain pulsating through his body. "This fight is starting to bore me though so I think I will end this now." Dark Link let go of his arm and Link saw that the wound was almost completely healed due to the power of the triforce. His momentary distraction was enough for Dark Link though. He ran forward and sliced at Link which was blocked by Link's shield. They both heard a crack and saw that split had appeared in the shield, breaking it in two pieces. Link threw the remains of the hylian shield to the ground and attacked Dark Link with even more fury than before trying to throw him off balance enough so that Cimar could join in soon. The two fighters fought across the room, a dance of death performed by the two master swordsmen. Each time their blades connected it would send showers of sparks through the air. Cimar had finally gotten back up and stood in awe of the power that each man possessed. This was a clash of titans, and both of them did not want to lose.

Dark Link executed a back flip to dodge the latest attack from Link who was already charging up his sword for a spin attack. Link discharged the energy and spun around with incredible force, more than he had ever put into a spin attack before. It was all for naught for Dark Link blocked the attack with ease. Link was thrown off-balance for a second and Dark Link ran up to him grabbing him by the throat and started to squeeze tightly, his sword being brought to bear against Link's neck.

Link brought the master sword around and smashed it into the side of Dark Link's face, loosening his hold as he dropped Link to the ground. Link took a small dagger from his belt and leapt forward at his opponent taking advantage of his distraction. This was his moment to avenge Zelda.

Dark Link saw the attack coming and grabbed Link by the arm and brought the hilt of his sword crashing down on Link's extended arm.

A loud crack could be heard around the room as the bone in Link's arm snapped in two. Link dropped the dagger and backed away screaming in agony, the pain searing through his body. He dropped the master sword to the ground and grabbed at his arm, hoping that the pain would go away. Blood began to run from the spot where the bone had broken the skin, staining Link's shirt and tunic a dark crimson. Dark Link bent over and picked the dagger off of the floor and twirled it in his hand.

"You shouldn't be playing with such sharp objects you know…someone might get hurt." A wicked grin crossed his face as he spun the dagger one last time before he threw it directly at Link.

The knife plunged into Link's stomach, immense pain coming from the wound. He looked down to see a dark crimson stain beginning to form on his tunic as he felt his life starting to drain away. He looked back up to see a ball of energy speeding towards him, hitting him the chest and was blown backwards, smashing through the solid stone wall of the throne room and hitting against the wall on the other side. The wall crumbled around him, smashing into Link. He lay in the ruble of the wall, slightly propped up against the remaining bit. This all seemed so familiar; Link thought…where had he seen this before. His eyes widened in shock as he remembered the dream from so long ago. The dream almost two months ago… he knew what was coming next and stared at Dark Link, fury burning in his eyes, knowing what was going to happen to him.

Dark Link watched as Link smashed through the walls of the room and into the hallway outside and started to laugh. Lightning crashed outside as he walked forward a couple of steps to get a closer look at his handiwork.

"There is no need for me to delay this any longer Link. The Hero of Time, how pathetic. The last time we meet years ago you showed so much promise… I find it amusing that I had more of a problem killing Zelda than I have had killing you." He charged up another ball of energy and aimed it at Link. "Say hello to her when you meet her again and tell her that I regret killing her so quickly." He laughed and fired the energy at Link. Link watched as it drew near, waiting for the end. He had broken his promise that he had made to Zelda.

"_Ok, but be careful Link, I do not want to become a widower this early in our lives." He looked at her, "Trust me; you will not be a widow after this is over. I promise."_

Link watched the energy speed towards him. Sorry Zelda, he thought…I couldn't keep my promise.

Dark Link watched the ball of energy explode in the hallway, collapsing the roof down on top of Link as he laughed with sadistic pleasure. Now all three pieces of the triforce could be his and the only thing left that he would have to get would be the Ameon. Once that was in his possession, he would the most powerful entity in the universe. He turned away from the wreckage that held the remains of Link and started to walk towards where Cimar was. He stopped short when he noticed that Cimar was gone, the only thing left being a pool of blood where he had once been.

* * *

Link watched as the blast connected with something blue in front of him and explode, collapsing the ceiling down on top of him. When the dust began to settle he watched as Dark Link turned and walked away from him. What happened…was he alive? 

"I couldn't be away from you Link, besides from the sound of the battle it looks like you needed me." Link turned his head and saw Zelda kneeling next to him.

"Zelda…You need to…" Link tried to sit up but the dagger in his stomach and his broken arm prevented any movement. He gasped in pain and Zelda saw the dagger for the first time.

"Link! What happened?" she gasped.

"Just a little fight, nothing to worry about." he responded trying to grin but only coughing at the pain that he was trying to hide from Zelda.

"You lie worse than a two year old Link." Zelda scolded. "Now hold on, this will only hurt for a second." Zelda took the dagger and yanked it out of his stomach as Link gritted his teeth in pain. Zelda put her hand over the wound and started to perform a healing spell and Link could feel the wound starting to close and the pain starting to subside.

"Thanks Zel…" Link stopped for a second then realized something. "Cimar is still in there, he will stand no chance against Dark Link. With the triforce of power he has become almost unstoppable." He tried to get to his feet but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"Now why would you think that I am in there with that guy?" Link looked up to see Cimar standing next to him. He looked at Cimar's shoulder and saw that the wound was completely gone.

"Zelda found me a minute ago and healed this up. She also told me how we can defeat this guy."

Link stared at Zelda, wondering what Cimar meant. Zelda looked down at Link and frowned. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I remembered it as I was going upstairs and tried to get back to you two. The guard tried to stop me but…what can he do against the princess." She grinned. "Anyways, I overheard Rauru and Impa talking a month ago the day after Cimar arrived. They said that whoever had the Ameon could control the power of all three pieces of the triforce if they were together. The wielder of the Ameon would then have the power of all three pieces." Zelda stopped to let the information sink in. When it did, Link looked up at Cimar who nodded solemnly.

"I know what I have to do." Cimar started to walk through the hole in the wall and into the throne room.

* * *

"If you're looking for me, I'm over here." Dark Link turned to see Cimar standing near the opening in the throne room's wall. Cimar started walking towards Dark Link sheathing his sword which puzzled Dark Link somewhat. 

"Do you wish to die without your sword in hand, how odd? I guess I shouldn't complain though. Either way tonight you will die." Dark Link charged forward and brought his sword down straight towards Cimar but the sword connected with empty air. Cimar had dodged to the right and landed a kick into Dark Link's side sending him flailing across the room but he managed to level himself, barely landing on his feet.

"I actually don't need my sword for what I need to do." Cimar said as he smiled holding his hand in front of him. "This is the power I need. I know the reason why you want the Ameon so badly."

Dark Link raised an eyebrow, as Cimar continued. "I believe it has something to do with it being able to control all three pieces of the triforce, isn't that correct?" Cimar's hand began to glow a dark sapphire as sparks started to dance around the mark of the Ameon. "Since I can control the powers of the triforce pieces, I choose to take the triforce of power for my own!" Dark Link's eyes widened in horror. He had to stop him before he ruined his plan. Dark Link disappeared and then re-appeared behind Cimar with his blade at the ready to slice Cimar in two. Cimar twirled around and as Dark Link prepared to swing and Cimar smashed his hand that wielded the Ameon into Dark Link's chest.

Dark Link screamed in pain as the light wrapped around him, sparks now shooting off of his body in all directions. Cimar backed away shielding his eyes as Dark Link fell to his knees, a blue aura surrounding his body. A bright white flash filled the room and then disappeared as Cimar felt new power flowing through his body and felt a throbbing in his hand. He looked down and saw a faint glow which started to grow until he saw the outline of a triangle with one of its sides glowing. The triforce had responded to the Ameon and now Cimar was the new owner…

He looked over to Dark Link and saw that he was kneeling on one leg, gasping for breath. His armor was gone, his power drained without the triforce helping him. With the energy of the triforce no longer in him, he was a shadow of his former power.

"Nice…trick…" Dark Link gasped as he stood up. "But I don't need the triforce to kill you." Dark Link grabbed his sword that lay on the floor and charged towards Cimar who quickly unsheathed his own sword and dodged the blow. Cimar brought his sword down in a vertical slash which Dark Link parried and attacked with a horizontal blow. Cimar noticed that even without the triforce of power he was still powerful enough in his own right. Their battle raged across the throne room, each blow parried or blocked almost effortlessly by the two combatants, though Cimar was slowly gaining the upper hand.

Dark Link stabbed forward which Cimar evaded by moving to his left. As Dark Link moved forward, Cimar met him with an uppercut that smashed into his chest. Dark Link coughed blood as he felt two of his ribs crack from the blow while Cimar followed up with a kick to his opponents face, sending him flying across the room smashing into the lone table in the room. His body breaking it in half and splintering it from the impact. Dark Link cringed from the pain as he tried to get back up realizing that the impact had sent pieces of word through his body, dark stains started to appear where jagged slices of wood had gone through him. Cimar started to approach him as Dark Link looked over and saw a part of a table leg on the ground. That would do just nicely. He turned and saw Cimar running towards him his sword at the ready. Dark Link lunged forward with his sword and Cimar quickly dodged out of the way. As he did, Dark Link grabbed the table leg and smashed it against Cimar's leg, shattering the wood as well as bone. Cimar screamed in agony as his leg collapsed from under him sending him sprawling to the floor.

* * *

Link and Zelda heard a cry echoing in the throne room that sounded like it had come from Cimar. Link started to get up while holding his broken arm. He winced slightly but got to his feet. "I'm going to go help him." 

"Link, I don't want you fighting him again, especially with your broken arm. Once Cimar uses the Ameon he will be able to handle him alone." Zelda pleaded.

"Link looked back, "Zelda, that scream came from Cimar not Dark Link. He needs me help." His eyes said it all. There would be no quarreling between them, his decision was final and she nodded her head in agreement.

Link walked through the hole and surveyed the room. Cimar was trying to stand up as Dark Link ran over and kicked him in the stomach. Link ran over and picked up the master sword from the place where he had dropped it and started sprinting towards the battle between Dark Link and Cimar. He would end this battle once and for all.

* * *

Dark Link kicked Cimar again as he tried to stand up, this time landing the blow directly into his chest, breaking several ribs and puncturing one of his lungs. Cimar gasped in pain and tried to stand up again. Cimar finally stood back up and held his sword in front of him, wincing from the agony he was in. 

Dark Link heard running behind him and saw as Link ran into the throne room. How had he survived? He had killed him just a few minutes ago. Dark Link was stunned by how he had managed to survive.

Cimar saw his chance and took it. He leapt forward at Dark Link who turned around in time to see the lunge and ducked down to avoid it as he brought his own sword up. Cimar looked down just in time to see Dark Link's blade heading straight through his side, piercing his body and going straight through to the other side.

Cimar blinked and dropped his sword which clattered to the ground. Dark Link withdrew his sword from Cimar's body and watched him fall to his knees and then collapse to the ground. Cimar felt his blood rushing from the wound and started to cough. He had failed Turalis; he had failed Malon he thought as he lay on the ground.

He could not tell how long he lay on the ground when he started to hear the sound of swords clashing together in front of him and heard the same voice that he had heard earlier when he had brought Zelda back to life.

"Stay still, you will not perish as long as you hold my power."

Cimar felt a twinge of pain and watched as his body started to glow. That was all he saw before his mind clouded over as the Ameon took control of his body.

* * *

Link watched Cimar as he collapsed to the ground. He screamed in anger and brought his sword back to end Dark Link's reign of terror. Dark Link evaded the attack and brought his sword up, ready for battle. Link was filled with adrenaline and no longer felt the pain in his arm. He swung the master sword wildly and relentlessly at his foe, never letting up the pressure and forced Dark Link back, almost against the walls of the throne room. Dark Link tried to slice at Link only for Link to block his attack and twist Dark Links sword out of his hand sending it clattering across the floor. Link began to walk forward raising his sword at Dark Link's throat, smiling knowing that he would be able to finally rid the world of this evil being. 

"You know why you are going to die don't you." Link's words echoing around the empty hall. "You destroyed Turalis, you murdered innocent people, destroyed Lon Lon Ranch and sent your hordes to destroy Castle Town. You murdered my wife and tried to kill Cimar and myself." Link was walking forward the entire time he listed what Dark Link had done, eventually forcing his enemy against the wall of the room, Link's sword poking into his throat causing a line of blood to trickle down his neck.

"The punishment for your crimes is death. How do you plead…"

Dark Link looked to each side of him looking for something that could save him. He spotted an oil lamp lying on the ground near him and looked back up to face Link.

"I say you first." Link drew back his sword to lunge at Dark Link who leapt to where the lamp lay and threw it at Link's face. The oil caught him in the eyes as Link screamed and dropped the master sword as he wiped at his eyes to rid them of the oil. Dark Link dashed over to his sword and then started towards Link. He drew back his sword and aimed it at Link who had finally gotten most of the oil out of his eyes and was trying to focus on Dark Link.

"As I said…you first."

Link waited for the strike to come but it never did.

* * *

Dark Link felt something enter into his stomach and looked down and saw the master sword sticking out of his chest. He turned his head around to see who had stabbed him and his eyes widened in shock. 

"How can this be…its impossible?" He stuttered as he dropped to his knees. The person behind him smiled and leaned down to face him, whispering into his ear.

"I told you that you could never beat a woman…"

"How…" was all that Dark Link could think of as he stared in the woman's eyes behind him. "I…killed you…" The woman smirked slightly and removed the master sword from his chest.

"Well, I guess you were wrong."

His plan at destroying Hyrule had failed. He fell onto his back, starting at the ceiling as it slowly faded from his view as he felt his death approaching.

"Why couldn't you have just died…when I…killed…you…" He whispered as he tried to grab at Zelda. Dark Link felt his chest seize up and he coughed violently. "Why….."

The evil that had walked the lands for fourteen years breathed his last breath and passed from the world of the living through the veil of death. Dark Link was finally gone, destroyed by the woman who he thought he had killed.

**For some reason I like the idea of Zelda being just as battle able as Link and sneaking in for the kill there. Maybe I was just playing too much Super Smash Bros. when I wrote this...**


	15. Chapter 14: Awakenings and Rebirth

**Chapter 14**

**Awakenings and Rebirth**

He opened his eyes and groaned slightly, the light that filled the room hurting his eyes. Whatever he was laying on was soft and he poked it with his hand. It was a bed? He started to sit up but felt pain start to shoot through his shoulder and lay back down. He heard a voice coming from the side of the room.

"He's awake."

Two people came into this vision and he was finally able to make out who they were. "Link? Zelda? Where am I…how did I get here?"

He looked around the room that he was in. The window was open revealing a cloudless sky outside and he heard a bird chirping from somewhere. He looked back to Link who had a splint on one of his arms and noticed a large bandage sticking out from under his tunic. He looked over at Zelda who had bruises on her otherwise perfect face and a scar on her arm. They both smiled, relieved to see their friend finally awake.

"Well, for starters you are in your room in the castle and have been in a comatose state for the past eight days. We were starting to get a little worried about you, Link even wanted to bury you at one point…Ow!" Zelda winced as Link pushed her shoulder, apparently annoyed by her comment.

"Wait a second…I thought I was dead…I mean…I was, wasn't I?" Cimar tried to put together what Link had just said with his memories. What had happened? Was it all just a dream?

"Well," Zelda started, "you weren't dead at one point and neither were you alive either. The Ameon took control of your subconscious." Cimar stared at her completely dumbfounded. What was going on? Zelda continued quicker than before when she noticed that Cimar was not following her at all.

"The power of the Ameon is a remarkable thing Cimar. It sensed that you were about to die and if you did, then it would be destroyed as well, so it somehow took over your subconscious and put you into a comatose state keeping you alive while the triforce of power healed your body." Cimar nodded slowly, beginning to understand what she was saying. He knew that the triforce of power granted him extra strength and helped him heal faster since that had helped him in the battle, but he had no clue that it combined with the Ameon could do what they did…

"Anyways" Link started in at this point. "The Ameon sensed all three pieces of the triforce after it took control of your mind and joined all three pieces together with its power. We were able to make a wish through the triforce."

"Well, what was your wish?" Cimar interrupted.

"You want to know?" Link asked scratching his head. Cimar narrowed his eyes and stared at Link. "Yes I would like to know why I was not in control of myself for the past eight days, the Ameon did strange things that I never knew it could do, why I am laying in this bed eight days later and why I can look out the window and see a Castle Town which still has buildings in it, which means that there wasn't any battle in which I was injured in. Why would I not want to know what you wished!" Cimar breathed heavily at the end of his tirade, clearly tired out from the exertion.

Link chuckled, "Calm down, I was going to tell you anyways. My wish was that the damage done and the innocent lives lost due to Dark Link would be undone. Once the wish was granted, everything returned back to normal except for Dark Link is no more. That is why you are alive in your bed in the castle looking out your window at Castle Town. The only bad thing is that since Ganondorf lost his life to Dark Link, he was resurrected as well. Myself, Zelda and the other sages were able to reseal him back in the dark realm again though, although he now has the triforce of power again…" Link folded his arms as he finished, pleased to see that Cimar was finally beginning to understand what he was saying.

"So everything is back to normal then" Cimar asked a little curiosity in his voice.

"Yes, everything should be back to normal" replied Link.

"Everything that was destroyed…" Cimar asked again. Link nodded his head, "Yep."

"Everybody is safe then…" Cimar asked as Link started to grow a little flustered. "Yes, everything is back to normal, including people, buildings Hyrule, animals, everything. Anything that Dark Link destroyed is back to what it used to be."

"Then that would mean that Turalis has not been destroyed then…my family is alive." As he said the last sentence tears started to come to his eyes. It had been so long since he had seen them…what would he say to them…

Link and Zelda looked at him with a little sadness in their eyes. "If you want Cimar, we can get you a horse so you can go back to Turalis." Zelda said. "We could pick up one of the horses from the ranch to take you; Malon has bred some incredibly fast horses..."

Cimar sprang out of bed and jumped to the dresser near his bed stand and started pulling out clothes and putting them on just as quickly as he was taking them out.

"What are you doing Cimar?" Zelda asked, wondering what she had said to cause such a change in him.

"You said that the ranch has horses. That means that Malon is there." He winced as he tried to put his boots on and then tried to hurry out the door with Link and Zelda running after him.

* * *

Cimar bolted through the gates of Castle Town as his kicked his horse for more speed. The guards at the gate heard more noise and turned to watch as Link and Zelda both galloped out of the gate and across the bridge into Hyrule Field. The two guards looked at each other and shrugged as the three horses disappeared into the field. 

Link and Zelda had managed to catch up to Cimar and the three of them raced towards Lon Lon Ranch even though they still had no clue why Cimar had this urge to go to the ranch now. They just kept their horses as near to his as possible since he still seemed somewhat weak and had already fallen twice trying to get to the stables.

Twelve minutes later they arrived at the ranch and their horses skidded to a stop near the entrance as Cimar leapt from his horse and tried to run to the front door. His felt a twitch in his leg and felt it go dead from the ride over and fell to the ground behind his horse. He had still not completely recovered from the past eight days. Link and Zelda quickly jumped to his aid as the door to the ranch house opened.

A person appeared in the door of the house and walked outside.

"What is going on out here? I heard some horses and…" she saw Link and Zelda standing next to a third horse as they turned to look at her. "Link, Zelda? What are you guys doing her and why the rush?" She was holding a large bowl in one arm filled with potatoes with some of them already peeled. Apparently they had interrupted her in the middle of preparing for dinner.

She heard a groan and watched as a man got up from behind the door and turned to face her. She recognized his face as her lower lip began to quake and she dropped the bowl of potatoes with a loud clang. She ran forward and embraced Cimar in a big hug, tears started to well up in her eyes as she started to sob.

"I thought you were dead. I didn't hear anything from you after the battle. I thought you would come back here but you never did."

"I'm sorry about keeping you waiting. I meant to come back here as soon as I could but I have been unconscious for the past eight days. I just woke up an hour ago and came straight here." Cimar pulled her away from him for a moment.

"Can you forgive me for what I have done?"

"I don't know…" Malon said trying to joke a little. "I might need some more explanation on how you really feel about leaving me for so long."

Cimar leaned towards her and kissed her on her lips. "Does that help any?"

Malon paused for a moment, sorting through her feelings that she held towards Cimar and decided that she had enough with treating him badly and decided to show him how she really thought.

"No, that doesn't help. I think that I could explain my feelings better…" Malon reached up with both hands, closed her eyes and kissed him on the lips, holding him in her arms. She let him go slowly and back away, staring back into his eyes and smiled. "That is what I was expecting from you."

Cimar was completely shocked. He had expected a completely different reaction from Malon. She looked up at him waiting for his answer.

"I guess I just need more practice with my messages then…" Cimar said as he reached down and kissed Malon the way that she had taught him, holding her in his arms, never wanting to let go again.

"What in tarnation was that racket that I just heard out here? I thought…oh…" Talon had just appeared in the door and saw his daughter and Cimar in an embrace that only death itself could break and Link and Zelda standing by their horses smiling at the couple in front of them. Talon motioned to them with his hand and they walked towards him.

"I think that we should leave these two alone for a little while" he whispered.

"I think that is a good idea." Zelda whispered back as the three walked towards the door of the house and closed it behind them.

* * *

Cimar stood next to Link, a worried look on his face. He was extremely nervous. He was hoping that everything would go smoothly and looked over at Link again who smiled back at him. They were both wearing matching white tunics although Cimar's had a white rosebud attached to his just below the collar. He started to fidget a little. 

"Stop worrying so much Cimar. Even I wasn't this jittery." Cimar stopped moving around and looked around the building he was in while he waited for the women to arrive.

The temple of Time had been decorated the most it had ever been except for one other occasion. Roses covered the walls and white streamers stretched across the ceiling. The light that came through the stain glass windows danced across the assembled crowd, creating an almost mystical atmosphere. White rose petals covered the floor all the way from the entrance to where he was standing. Cimar was feeling euphoric and nervous all at the same time. After Link and Zelda had left Malon and himself standing in the ranch's yard a week ago, he had proposed to Malon. Her response was a kiss so passionate that he thought that it could never be able to repeat it again in his lifetime. He asked if that was an ok and she had replied with the answer he was hoping for, yes. It had been a long two months that followed as they prepared for the wedding, however, Cimar never let Malon out of her site as she did the same with him. They had spent every waking minute together, only becoming separated by each retiring to their own room for the night.

The doors to the temple opened and the light from outside filled the aisle that led up to the pulpit. The organ started to play, filling the chapel with music as the two women walked into the room. Cimar gasped as he saw Malon for the first time that day.

Malon was wearing the most exquisite dress that he had ever seen. It was made of the finest, purest white silk that he had ever seen in his life, a line of diamonds had been sewn into the neck of the dress which circled about just below her collarbone, the diamonds shimmering in the sun. A belt made of pearls connected together was wrapped around her waist, with the hylian royal seal hanging down in the front of the dress, cascading down almost to the floor. Rose patterns zigzagged back and forth along the arms of the dress that ended just above his elbow. She was wearing exquisite silk gloves of the purest white, ardorned with the same rose pattern that adorned the rest of the dress. Her dress hugged her body yet seemed to flow around her like water as she walked, the silk dancing around her legs. Her normally flowing red hair was held back in place by a tiara except for two curls that ran down the sides of her face. The tiara itself seemed to be made out of pure crystal with roses etched onto its otherwise flawless surface. Malon seemed to glow with beauty as she started up the steps to where he was standing. She moved as if her feet never touched the ground and his heart skipped a beat. Cimar stood in total awe.

Zelda was escorting Malon to where Cimar was standing and then walked over to Link and wrapped her arm around his. "Kind of reminds you of our wedding day doesn't it." She stared up at him her eyes glistening. Link looked down at her, his expression on his face the same as hers. "Yes, except that the only difference is that in ours the bride was much more beautiful…" Link whispered into Zelda's ear. She smiled and then poked him in his side causing him to twitch. "Don't say that in front of Cimar," Zelda whispered.

"At this point, I don't think that even if the building collapsed he would notice it right now." Link said as he leaned down and kissed his wife. They both shifted their attention to Cimar and Malon who now where holding hands while standing at the pulpit.

"No words can describe your beauty today, even the goddesses seem pale before your radiance" Cimar said as he looked over at Malon. Even through the veil that covered her face, he could tell that she was beaming at him. "Thanks" she said, joy filling her soul. "I'm glad you think that."

Rauru walked up to the pulpit and began to speak but Malon and Cimar never paid attention to a single word he said. They were too busy staring into each others eyes, love filling the void between them.

Cimar felt a tap on his shoulder and looked over to see Link pointing up at the alter as Rauru finished speaking and looked down at Cimar.

"Do you have the ring?" he asked.

Stunned out of his trance and with Malon giggling slightly he turned to Link who produced a small white box. "Yeah, it's right here." Cimar opened it and held the ring in his hand and then reached over and put it on Malon's waiting finger.

"Do you Cimar take Malon, to be your wife, to love her with all your heart for as long as you live?"

Cimar gazed into Malon's eyes. "I do"

"Do you Malon take Cimar to be your husband, to him with all your heart for as long as you live?"

Without taking her gaze off of Cimar she quickly answered. "With all my soul I do."

"Then by the power that invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Cimar, you may kiss the bride."

Cimar lifted the veil from Malon's face and looked at his wife clearly for the first time that day, her full beauty becoming apparent. He leaned down as she leaned forward and they kissed to the applause of the gathered crowd. They looked at each other as Malon reached out her hand. "Shall we go?" Malon asked as Cimar took her hand in his. "Yes, I think we should" was his reply as they began to stroll down the aisle together, passing by Cimar's parents and family as they neared the door and got into the awaiting carriage. It started to rattle down the street and across the bridge that led out of castle town. It was taking them to a cabin that had been built for them on the shores of Lake Hylia, a cabin that Cimar had been building for them ever since their first trip to the lake the day after he proposed. It was where they would spend their honeymoon together. The carriage rolled to a stop and Cimar got out first, holding his hand up for Malon to help her down. They watched the sun set at the lake, taking in its beauty as they held each other in their arms. After it had set, Cimar held out his hand to Malon.

"Let's go inside before it gets to cold out her."

Malon agreed, "Yes, let's go inside." They walked hand in hand into the cabin joy filling their souls. Cimar had finally filled the void that had been in his heart and Malon's knight in shining armor had finally arrived.

**I hope I added in enough details so you could imagine the wedding scene. Just one last chapter to go until the story is finished.**


	16. Intermission between Part I &  II

**Basically, this chapter is an interlude between the first and second parts of this story. I have decided to write a sequel and want it to be easily found so I decided to put it on the end of this one. While reading this, you should take a break to go eat something or use the restroom, then come back and read part II. **

**Part II is going to be a lot more darker than Part I. I think I overdid the happy ending bit so I will try and make this one more interesting for those of you who gag at perfect endings (although the epilogue will stay the same, well maybe with some slight twists). I also added one of my fellow fanfiction authors as characters in part II so be on the look out for them. I change all of the rules in part II and change a lot of perspectives on some of the characters. I really hope you will enjoy it.**

**This section will also function as the area where I thank reviewers and everybody for reading, commenting or just enjoying the story so far. Without you guys, writers wouldn't exist and these stories would never be told. Again, thanks for reading.**

* * *

**Views: 824**

**Favorited: 3**

**Reviews: 6**

**Alerts: 1**

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**Response to: The Shadow Poet: Thanks for your very generous review and yes, I am currently in the process of writing the sequel. It is acutally the next chapters so... hope you injoy.**

**Response to: HimmelsDraculina: I'm glad that you liked the special characters I put into the story. I hope you enjoy the rest of it.**

**Response to: Slipnotmaggot13: Thanks for saying you liked my story so far. It is a real pleasure to know that people take joy in something you did or in this case, wrote. Thank you.**


	17. Chapter 15: Another Chance, Another Plan

His body dropped to the ground in a heap, as he choked on the dust that had been kicked up by his landing. He moaned slightly as he felt his chest where the dagger that had ended his life should have been yet only a scar was left, testament to his master's power. Grinning, he slowly pushed himself off of the ground into a sitting position, his chest heaving slightly from the exertion. His wounds may have healed when he was sent back to this realm, but his energy would take time to return to him. His smile disappeared as he remembered the woman who had cursed him to return to this wretched place. Why hadn't she died like his master's plan had foretold. Up until that point nothing had gone wrong, everything was like it was supposed to happen. He cursed the princess, cursed Link and cursed everybody who had foiled his plans on revenge.

"She was helped by the goddesses, that was beyond my control."

Dark Link looked up and quickly bowed as his master approached him.

"My Lord, what do you mean, the goddesses helped her, your plan said nothing about that happening."

"Evidently, something went wrong then" the being said icily, causing a small chill to reverberate down Dark Links spine. The person walked forward a few more steps and waved for Dark Link to stand. As he stood, he saw his master snap two fingers and felt a rush of pain shoot through his body. He screamed in agony as he dropped him to his knees, his body shaking from the pain.

"However," he looked up to see his master staring down at him "failure on your part was not part of the arrangement."

Dark Link's eyes widened in fear as he heard another snap echo across the cavern. Pain again engulfed his body and he screamed in terror, knowing that the penalty for failure was death. He heard another snap as the pain subsided and he lay twitching on the floor. Staring up at the person standing over him, his eyes widened even further when he saw a sword being unsheathed. He tried to back away as his master walked towards him, a cruel smile etched across his masters face.

"No, please, I can do it next time! I can kill them…I can! Believe me, please…"

He screamed as the sword came down and sliced across his face, leaving a gash from his left cheek to his chin. Dark Link grabbed at his face and felt blood starting to trickle down from the wound. He looked back up at his master and saw the sword swing down yet again, this time across his lower leg just below the left knee.

His screams penetrated the deepest corridors of the building he was in, causing all who heard it to wince. Everybody knew what was happening and dared not to help or suffer the same fate. Five minutes later, Dark Link was lying on the ground his body shaking from the torture. His tunic was cut in dozens of places revealing deep gashes and wounds that were bleeding profusely. Cuts littered his body as he gasped for each breath wishing for the torture to end so he could finally rest. He looked up to see the sword of his master hanging above his neck. His heart leaped as he knew he was finally going to be released, the end of his torment would soon come. He closed his eyes, thanking the goddesses even though he hated them. The hum of the sword as it flew downward at its target filled the hall as Dark Link waited to embrace his true final dismissal from life.

"Wait! Don't kill him, please!"

Dark Link's eyes opened in sudden horror as he recognized the voice. He knew that his master killed anyone who interrupted the master's plans. Slowly, he got to his knees and saw as the figure who had called out to him running over to his side.

"Zelda, you shouldn't be here. Master, please don't do anything to her, she doesn't realize what she has just done." He gazed up into his Zelda's eyes. She was the total antithesis of the Zelda that had sent him back to this realm. Instead of the royal clothes she wore a simple dress and blouse, both colored the darkest black. Her eyes glowed a dark crimson, just as his own eyes did. She was the opposite of her twin in Hyrule in every way except for one, she was married to Dark Link and she, Dark Zelda cared for nobody else except for him.

"Please, master, do not hurt him anymore. What happened was out of his control and wasn't expected to happen" Dark Zelda cried as she pleading with her master. "Besides he did succeed in killing Zelda once before the accursed Goddesses brought her back to life. He is…" she tried to continue but her master wouldn't hear it. Dark Zelda flew across the room as the punch connected with her face, sending her smashing into the wall at the end of the room. She moaned as she got up and tried to walk back to where Dark Link lay, clutching at her left arm as a dark line of crimson slowly made its way down her limb.

"You have to spare him, please. He is the only one who could defeat Link you know that. Only one who is the opposite from this realm can kill their twin in that realm. That is why Zelda was brought back to life" she pleaded as she finally made her way back to Dark Link's side. Dark Link looked up to his master's face hoping that the truth that Dark Zelda had said would affect her.

"Your impudence amuses me Zelda" the master said as a look of horror crossed across Dark Zelda's face. "However, what you say is the truth. Dark Link here is the only one who can defeat his counterpart as well as you are the only one who can defeat the Zelda of that realm" his voice piercing the two people who stood in front of him.

Dark Link shuddered as he heard a snap of the master's finger, waiting for pain to engulf his or Dark Zelda's body but it never came. Instead, a warm flow of energy surged through his body washing away all of the pain that he was feeling. He looked down to see as the scars and cuts littering his body healed almost instantly. He turned to Dark Zelda, reaching out and holding her in his arms, thanking her for saving his life. They embraced as their master walked back to his throne and sat down.

"You have two strikes against you, Dark Link, and you Zelda have one." The two people shuddered as he spook, his words sending shivers down their spines. "Remember this; there will be no third time for reparations. I want the light worlds Link and Zelda dead and if you can not do this simple task, then I will have to find someone else who can." He waved them off and the two bowed before exiting the throne room. The master grinned and smoothed back his brown hair that had fallen into his eyes and thought to himself.

_They know what happens when someone fails me. They have been given a reprieve from my wraith. This time, they must succeed or else I will have to resort to sending him._

Just at the thought he started to laugh, which grew and grew until if filled the entire hall and brought fear into the hearts of those who had entered into the throne room, waiting on their king. This first plan might have failed, but he always had a reserve in such cases as these.

* * *

"Well, do you like it Mal?" Cimar asked as he eyed Malon who had never known that Cimar had been building this cabin for her. They had both already changed out of their wedding clothes and into more simple attire. Cimar was wearing his normal tunic and pants while Malon had changed into the clothes that she had worn the day she had met Cimar for the first time, a simple white blouse with a slight pink dress and a yellow neckerchief around her neck. He watched her as she walked around the room, almost in a daze, joy etched across her face. She turned to him and beamed. 

"This…this is wonderful" Malon cried "How did you build all of this by yourself," she asked walking towards him, a slight smile taking shape, "or did you cheat a little". Malon kissed him on his cheek after she had spoken and giggled slightly when he blushed. He still blushed slightly whenever she kissed him even though he had proposed to her almost a month ago and it still caused her heart to leap for joy.

"Well," Cimar started, scratching the back of his head "Rigo helped out a little since he did owe me from back at the ranch." Malon cocked her head to the side and grinned as she walked up to him and kissed him on the lips, holding him in her arms as he repeated the motion. They separated and Malon giggled slightly.

"So, what kind of favor did he owe you if he had to build this house for us?"

Cimar blushed slightly, "I don't think it would be a good idea for me to say at the moment." He shuffled his feet as Malon took a step back from him, her mouth turning downwards into a fake pout.

"So you won't tell your wonderful wife what kind of deal you made?" she asked, holding back a fake sniffle. Cimar chuckled hesitantly, starting to wonder if he should tell her what the deal was or not.

"I don't think it would be the best idea to tell, it is kind of well…embarrassing to tell you the truth."

Malon stared at Cimar while pondering how to get this information out of him and then realized just the way she could. A smile crossed her face and she walked slowly up to Cimar who was now looking a little scared of what she was planning.

"Mal, what are you doing?" he asked "it is…" he stopped as her lips connected with his, her soft hands caressing his face. He reached around and held her close to his body, feeling her warm body next to his. Just as suddenly as she had started she pulled away from him and walked towards the door of the cabin.

"If you don't tell me what deal you made then that will never happen again" she stated as she opened the door and walked out into the light of the day closing the door behind her and leaving a puzzled and confused Cimar inside.

Malon noticed that the carriage that had taken them to this cabin had just left and the sound of the horse's hoofs and creaking wheels was almost gone. The sun still stood high in the air as its rays warmed the earth. It was a hot day in Hyrule yet not unusually so for the summer months. Malon looked outside and realized that they should probably spend the rest of today outside since she knew what would happen if they stayed cooped up in the cabin all day.

She heard the door of the cabin open and the sound of boots on grass as Cimar walked up besides her.

"You didn't have to threaten anything you know, I would have told you" he said as he took in the beauty that surrounded Lake Hylia. He looked down at Malon who was grinning up at him.

"Well," she started kind of surprised but tried to hide it, "I had to get you out of that house somehow since it was such a beautiful day today. Now wont you tell me what your deal was?" she asked gazing up into Cimar's eyes.

"Yes, I will, but I will explain as we walk," he said as he pointed towards an island in the middle of the lake, "since it might take a little while to explain fully."

Ten minutes later Malon was still a bit surprised and a little angry at what Cimar had down. She jabbed him in his side again as he twisted away from the glare he was receiving from her.

"YOU BET THAT I WOULD MARRY YOU?" she said again, this time pushing Cimar forward.

"I know, I know, it was stupid of me to do that and I am sorry if it hurts you" Cimar said as he rubbed his side where Malon had poked him several dozen times already. He knew he deserved it since it was a childish thing to do at the time.

"Of course that was a stupid thing to do. Why would you do something like that? If you would have lost then you would have had to work for Rigo for the rest of your life. That was extremely stupid of you!" Malon felt both elated and angry at the news upon hearing that Cimar had wagered that Malon would accept his proposal and if she didn't then he would have to work for Rigo the rest of his life. She was overjoyed that they had a house that they could vacation in but angry that if she had not accepted than she might not have been with Cimar for the rest of their lives.

"How could you be so stupid." She couldn't tell Cimar how she was feeling so instead she just pushed him again. This time however, he was standing a little to close to the lake and when Malon pushed him he tripped backwards and fell with a loud splash into the lake. She gasped as Cimar pushed his head above the surface of the lake, spitting out water and trying to get the water out of his eyes.

"I'm…I'm sorry. Are you hurt? Let me help you out of there." Malon reached down and grabbed one of Cimar's arms to help him out of the lake but he had a different idea of what was going to happen. Before she could let go, Cimar pulled her into the lake with him creating just as big of a splash. She coughed when she reached the surface of the lake, her hair hanging limply in front of her face, weighed down by the water. Cimar swam over to her and lifted the hair out of her eyes, laughing the entire time. Malon tried to feel angry but couldn't hold it in any longer and burst into laughter. The two of them swam to the shore and tried to wring out their clothes the best they could. Cimar walked over to Malon and put his arm around her shoulder and smiled down at her.

"Now wasn't that fun? Aren't you glad I made that bet?"

Malon smiled up at him, "Yes, I am glad although I still am not happy about it." She smiled as she leaned up and kissed him on his cheek. She reached around and held Cimar in her arms staring up into his eyes.

"I have been waiting for you for the longest time you know that?" she whispered into his ear. He looked down at her, his eyes filled with love.

"So have I, although I didn't know it would be you I was searching for." They leaned together and were just about to kiss again when they heard a song floating in the air around them. They turned towards the noise and say a flurry of lights appear on top of the triforce symbol that was on the island. They stood in shock as a figure slowly materialized in front of them and stepped out of the light.

"Cimar, Malon, I'm sorry to interrupt but you need to get ready to leave now." Link said as he eyed the couple, pain in his eyes knowing he had just interrupted something special. "Something important has come up."

Cimar faced Link now and wondered what could be so important that he would interrupt their honeymoon. "What is the problem, can be come back tomorrow?"

Link shook his head before looking back up at the couple. Cimar noticed something new in Link's eyes, fear.

"The king is dead. He was murdered just a few minutes ago in his study and we found a note with your signature next to his body. They need you back at the castle for questioning."

* * *

**Great way to start off the new part of this story huh. I will keep on adding more chapters as soon as possible.**


	18. Chapter 16: The First Strike

**Chapter 16**

**The First Strike**

Cimar stood in shock, his body ignoring all of his pleas to turn and run. Malon was equally shocked by the news.

"How…did this happen?" Cimar finally asked. "We left straight fore here after the wedding and just arrived a few hours ago…how could I..." he started to speak but was cut off by Malon.

"Are you suggesting that you believe that Cimar killed the king?" she asked, both anger and sadness evident in her voice.

"No, I'm not suggesting that at all" Link responded, "I just came…"

"To what? Accuse my husband of murder?" Malon started, her voice raising an octave as she spoke.

"No I came to warn you that a mob is coming to kill you. They think that you Cimar killed their king. I tried to stop them but even my pleadings and reasoning was not enough. They are beyond reason; they thought they saw you murder their king in cold blood."

"But I have been here all along! Everyone at the wedding knew we were coming here!" Cimar sputtered, still not able to grasp how people could think that he was in two places at once.

"I know that, everybody at the wedding knows that, but these people _don't_ know that." Link shot back, his anger starting to grow. "I came here to warn you to leave before that mob gets here. They are positive that you are the killer and nothing will stand in their way until you are dead!" Link yelled, his anger finally getting the better of him. He saw the look of fear on Malon's face and realized that he was partly to blame for it. Link shook his head before speaking again, this time without anger in his voice.

"Cimar, Malon, you guys need to leave this place. I can transport you to back to the temple of time where Zelda and her guard are waiting for us and then we can escort you safely to the castle. Most of the mob has already headed in this direction and the ones that stayed in Castle Town would not dare to attack the princess with her guards."

As if proving his statement further the sound of voices nearing the entrance of Lake Hylia started to roll across the water to their ears. Link looked quickly to the origin of the noise and watched as men started appearing over the rise of the hill nearest the lake, heading towards the cabin that belonged to Cimar. Malon let out a gasp as she noticed most of the men were armed with anything they had picked up on their march towards the lake. Cimar turned quickly to his wife then back to Link.

"We will go with you but I want to have all of my questions answered when we arrive at the castle. We are willing to help you in any way possible." Cimar stated.

"Very well, you must do as I say…"

Link paused as he heard a loud crash echo across the lake. Cimar and Malon turned as they watched the men break into their home and the sounds of furniture being smashed rang in their ears. "They aren't here!" They heard one of the men yell.

"I see them," a small voice cried as the trio turned towards the shore, "they are on that island out there!" The mob turned from the house and started running towards the bridges that connected the shore to where their quarry stood.

Malon and Cimar turned to Link who motioned them onto the small triforce platform in the center of the island.

"Do not let go of me no matter what, or else you will end up back here, got it?" Link yelled as the sounds of the mob came closer and closer. The two nodded and grabbed Link as the Hero of Time brought out a small ocarina and started playing. The notes echoed in the air for a moment as Cimar and Malon felt themselves being wrenched into the air in a twinkling of lights. They looked down as at the mob which stood where they had just been screaming their rage. Several of them stared at her, their eyes almost a pure crimson. She grabbed all the more tighter to Link as she watched herself leave the lake behind, not wanting to be left to the crowd below…

* * *

Malon felt as if the air itself was pulling at her body, trying to separate her from Cimar and Link as they hurtled through nothingness. She closed her eyes wishing for the trip to end as her fingers started to slip from around Link's waist. Luckily, she saw the ground approaching quickly and let out a sigh of relief as her feet touched the marble that covered the floor of the temple of time. She looked over at Cimar who was equally relieved at being able to stand on any type of ground. 

"What just happened?" she asked, looking over at Link who had just put his ocarina into one of his pockets. He looked over at her and smiled, realizing that Malon had never teleported with him before.

"Congratulations Malon, Cimar" Link said as he slapped both of them on their backs, leading them towards the entrance of the temple of time "You both just experienced the thrill of teleporting through time and space." He said, smiling at both of them.

"I think I fill a bit ill," Cimar stated, clutching slightly at his stomach and looking slightly nautilus.

"Don't worry, you usually get over that in a few minutes, there is no lasting harm as far as I know" Link paused as he watched Cimar doubled over near one of the pews at the back of the temple and proceeded to empty his stomach contents onto the floor. Link started to laugh as Malon walked over to help Cimar up as he finished redecorating the floor, wiping at his mouth with the sleeve of his tunic.

"That was unexpected," Link got in between laughs. "I wouldn't believe that you Cimar, a man who has faced death in the face would become ill over something as small as teleporting."

"Facing death was easy…" Cimar stated slowly, pausing between words so he wouldn't throw up again. "Death only wanted to kill me, not turn my stomach inside out."

Link laughed again. "Well, at least you can check off teleporting off of your list of things to do, eh?" he said as he slapped Cimar on the back again. Cimar made a grab at mouth and managed to turn around before he emptied the rest of his lunch onto the ground. Malon turned to Link and giggled slightly. It was funny to her that her knight in shining armor who had been a warrior all of his life and wielded incredible powers, was sick over a little magic.

"I guess we shouldn't use that method of transportation anymore Link" Malon said as she heard another retching sound from behind the pew.

"I think that is a good idea, Mal…" Link said as he looked over at Cimar who was started to get back on his feet, "a very good idea…"

Malon and Link hurried over and picked Cimar up onto his feet and carried him to the entrance of the sanctuary, hoping that the fresh air would ease his stomach. Link however was not thinking about fresh air, he was hoping that there wouldn't be a crowd to great them when they left the building.

The sun shone down its brilliant aura from above as the three exited the temple of time, holding Cimar between the two of them, his steps still unsteady after the trip. Link looked out to see Zelda walking towards them with a look of urgency across her face along with the sadness of the day's events. In his heart, Link knew that Zelda could recover from the death of her father, but knew that she was hiding the true pain that she felt.

"What happened to you?" Zelda asked in, staring at Cimar who looked like he had been punched in the gut one too many times.

"We learned that Cimar here shouldn't use magic to teleport. It doesn't bode well with him." Link said, pulling Cimar along since he was still too nauseous to move by himself.

Zelda breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Link, "At least that was all that happened, I thought that you had not made it to him in time."

"I almost didn't. The mob was almost to us when we came here" Malon said, shuddering slightly, remembering the look of hatred in the eyes of those men. She looked up at Zelda, her eyes starting to glisten with tears, "Why do they think that Cimar killed your father. Everybody knows him; they know he wouldn't do a thing like that."

Zelda turned away from Malon trying to hold back her own tears, the memory of watching her father die before her eyes flashing through her mind. She worked back the memory and looked back at Malon. "Now is not the time to discuss this. Many people did not join the group that went after you at the lake and here is not a safe place for Cimar to be. Once we get into the castle, I will explain everything that has happened since you left."

Malon looked over at Cimar who, though still looking pale, was starting to stand on his own again. She nodded her agreement with Zelda and helped her husband into the carriage that would carry the four of them to the castle before anyone knew that they had been there.

* * *

As the carriage and accompanying guard started down the path leading to the castle, a solitary figure watched from the shadow of a nearby building. He smiled at how events were now unfolding exactly the way his master wanted them to. He twirled around, his cloak fluttering around him as he backed down the alleyway and followed it out into another side street. If anybody was following him, it would seem as if he had no destination, his path completely random. When the sun was finally going down, he arrived at a decrepit looking building on the far side of castle town, its façade slowly crumbling and the door hanging slightly off on of its hinges, a testament to how long it had been forsaken. It had been abandoned for some time now, but had finally found new occupants. He knocked twice on the door, followed by another, louder tap. The door creaked open and he walked inside, looking behind him to make sure nobody had followed him before closing the door. 

"Well, have they arrived?" a woman's voice asked.

"Yes".

The man sat down in one of the chairs that surrounding a broken table, one of its legs missing and one of the other legs just a little too short to reach the ground. A small fire was cackling in the heath, barely lighting the small room. Shadows danced across the walls although the light from the fire revealed three other people sitting in the room besides himself. Two of them were women; one had dark black hair while the other woman had black hair that was tinted an unusually dark shade of red. The other person in the room was scowling in the corner, rubbing at one of the bandages that went across his face. The man who entered took off his hood to reveal his dark brown hair and his cold crimson eyes, the eyes that all of them shared. The eyes of those who have been bent by darkness and twisted to serve it.

"I judge that the mob we sent did not accomplish their task then?" asked the man in the corner, the fire from the hearth dancing in his eyes.

"No, Link had to interrupt and brought them to the Temple of Time." At the mere mention of Link's name the man in the corner spit on the ground, his contempt for that man evident to all those around him.

"Come off it already, are you still made that he has beaten you twice now? I would think you could show more respect for those who have sent you back twice now." The man in the corner jumped out of his seat, sending it flying to the ground. "And I expect you can do better, huh? This last time I would have killed him if it wasn't for that idiot from Turalis showing up although I bet you enjoyed watching him since he is the same as you."

The man who had been sitting at the table jumped to his feet as well and started towards the man in the corner before being stopped by a voice ringing through the air.

"Enough of this!" the two men stopped and looked at the women with the dark crimson hair as she stood up to face both of them. "No wonder why you failed in your task the last time, you act like a child, no…worse" she aimed at man in the corner. "And you," she turned to face the other man, "I expected something better from you, being led around by Dark Link over there. It blows my mind how either of your other halves can stand each other. In order to succeed in this mission we need to work together instead of against one another. We should be joyous, the king is dead and Hyrule believes it was Cimar who did it," she paused, her mouth curling into a smile, "although, I believe you did kill him didn't you." A small ripple of laughter started to fill the room as the irony of the statement sunk in. The first part of their mission was a success. The king was dead and one of the hero's of the land had been successfully framed for it. It wouldn't be long now until the rest of their plan fell into place.

"I believe this day should call for a toast" stated the woman in the corner as she went to a ramshackle cupboard and produced four glasses and a bottle of wine. She set them on the table and poured the liquid into each of the glasses and raised her own glass into the air.

"To the master of the dark realm, and to our successful mission. May we take over this land and purge it of our better halves."

"To the Master" they all repeated as they drank the wine and set their cups on the table. The man with the dark brown hair sat down in a chair against the wall and grinned.

"So, Zelda …what comes next in the plan" he asked staring at the woman as he flashed a wicked smile.

"What comes next is that we wait for funeral of the king. Then we will make our move and finally rid us of our better halves." She said as a ripple of laughter started across the room, eventually ringing throughout the building and into the cold, dark alleyways of Castle Town, sending shivers down the spines of all those who were unlucky enough to hear it. The plan was in motion, and this time…it would not fail.

* * *

**Yes this chapter is a little short and has a lot of information in it. The next chapter will be posted soon so be on the lookout and don't forget to review since that helps the writer (myself in this case) out a lot.**


	19. Chapter 17: Ancient Darkness

**Warning: This chapter explains the plot of the rest of the story although it is a little confusing. Read through it and at the end I provide a summary that hopefully makes sense if you don't get it while reading through the story. Also, don't scroll down after reading this so you don't have to read this chapter because then you will miss out on a lot of important stuff that I don't include in the summary.**

* * *

**Chapter 17**

**Ancient Darkness**

The room that they sat in was well lit, but nothing at the moment could cheer the four people who sat within. After luckily getting back to the castle without being noticed by anyone in Castle Town, Zelda led them to where her father's body lay. He had looked so peaceful laying on the bed, almost as if he would suddenly wake from his slumber and start walking about. Even with the peacefulness of his form, there was no denying that the king of Hyrule was dead.

The four walked slowly up to the body, stepping softly almost in an attempt to not disturb the king's slumber. Link looked over at Zelda with a reassuring glance, hoping that it would comfort her just a little since before her lay her father, the only family that she had in this life since her mother died and since she had married Link.

Zelda stared down at her father's body, remembering some of the times that they had spent together when she was younger. All the times that he made comforted her when she was scared during storms as a child, keeping watch over her when she was sick. She stifled a sob as tears started to come to her eyes. Wiping at the tears, she felt an arm reach around her and looked around to see Malon standing next to her. Zelda had been trying to keep her emotions in check since his passing and Malon knew she needed help.

"So he really is gone…" Cimar said, staring down at the body. "He really is gone…"

Even through all of the pain that she had felt today, Cimar's comment finally let the truth sink in. Up until that point she was hoping, pleading with herself that she could deny that he was gone but that one comment made her realize the truth…her father was gone, and he wasn't coming back.

Zelda burst into tears and started to sob as the realization hit home. She fell to her knees and cried, her tears forming on the cold stone floor. Malon sat down and put her arms around Zelda, who turned to accept the embrace, crying into her shoulder.

"It will be ok Zelda…it will be ok" Malon said softly, feeling tears come to her own eyes. She knew what it was like to lose family. "Everything will be alright…he loved you, you know that. Let out your tears, you don't need to hold them back" Malon whispered even softer than before as Zelda continued to cry. Malon turned to look up at Cimar and Link who looking down at the two women, their eyes pleading with her to tell them what they could do to help. Cimar looked almost in pain since he must have felt like he was the cause of Zelda's pain.

"It's not your fault Cimar, don't blame yourself for this." Malon said as she looked up at him. "We all know you are not to blame."

"It was his fault though" Zelda stammered through her tears. "Cimar murdered my father."

Silence filled the room. Malon turned and looked at Zelda in shock, as did everyone else in the room. Zelda's tears were coming less and less and her sobs were starting to diminish.

"Zelda how could you say such a thing. We saw Cimar leave with Malon to the lake after the wedding, there is no possible way he could have done this crime" Link said, shock evident in his voice that his wife would say such a thing about their friend.

"But I saw him do it…" Zelda said as she turned to look at Cimar, her eyes red from the tears. "I saw you stab my father and then run off laughing…I saw you do it." Zelda's voice started to show hints of anger as she rose from the ground to face Cimar. "You murdered him just like you did Link when you first arrived here. You are just trying to kill everyone that I love aren't you!" Zelda walked towards Cimar and slapped him across his face, leaving a slight red mark. Link looked on in shock at the behavior of his wife. He had never seen this side of her before, it was like she was a completely different person.

"Zelda!" She turned and looked at Link who was staring at her in disbelief. "Cimar has done no such thing and does not deserve to be treated like this. It wasn't him who did this terrible deed.

"Zelda?"

The princess turned around when she heard her name being called. Malon was staring at her, pain evident in her eyes Zelda's actions. "You still haven't told us what happened to the king and why you are accusing my husband of murder. Why don't you tell us what happened instead of blaming Cimar?"

"That is a question that has been on my mind as well, Zel. You never did actually tell me what happened after I left. I'm sure that if you explain what happened we can find out who really did this." He walked over to his wife and held her in an embrace before Zelda answered him.

"I will…but can we leave this room and my father in peace?" she asked. Link nodded in agreement, "Of course, Zel. Anything that will make this easier for you." He put an arm around her shoulder and walked out of the room with his wife, Malon and Cimar following closely behind and closing the door behind them. The four waked to a nearby room and shut the door behind them. The two men grabbed seats for themselves and their wives before sitting down to wait for Zelda to tell them what happened. Zelda wiped at her eyes once and sighed before she began.

* * *

"About an hour after you two left for the lake, father and I were talking in one of the side chambers of the temple of time. We were talking about the arrangement of knighting you when you came back from the lake, in honor of your bravery during the invasion. There was a knock at the door which surprised us since we told everyone to leave us for a few minutes. I went to the door and opened it…" she paused, recalling the memory as fresh tears started to well up behind her eyes. She looked up and stared at Cimar, "I opened it, and…I saw you at the door. I asked you why you had returned so early but you didn't answer me, you just stood there, in the doorway with this, this grin on your face." Zelda stopped, stifling a sob with pain etched across her face.

Cimar leaned forward in his seat his hands clasped on his knees, "You saw, me? Are you sure it was me that you saw?" Zelda nodded, "Yes, I'm positive that it was you. You were even wearing your wedding clothes, everything matched exactly." He leaned back in his chair, slouching down as his mind struggled with what she said. _How could somebody look exactly like me, enough so to fool Zelda?_ He rubbed his hands through his hair as he grappled with the thought. _I don't know of anyone who could do such a trick…I was at the lake the entire time, what really happened?_ He looked up as he heard Zelda continue with the story.

"I remember asking you about Malon, and then you just stared down at me with a look that…" Zelda shivered as she remembered the look on his face. It was a look of almost pure hatred, something she had only seen on one other persons face and she recoiled instinctively from the memory.

"You looked down at me and just…smiled. I saw you raising your hand and then, felt it come down and…you hit me." She stared up at Cimar, a sadness in her eyes that chilled his soul. She continued, staring directly at Cimar, "My father got up and started yelling at you to leave and tried to push you out of the door to call for his guards. When he tried to get past you…you brought out a knife from your belt. Father tried to back away and yelled for his guards but you were too quick…" Zelda's body started to quiver as a tear made its way down her cheek.

"You killed him…" her words biting into Cimar's soul, "you stabbed him before he could do anything. I screamed for the guards as you ran out of the room, laughing… You said something as you were leaving, I caught some of it. You were saying something like, "The hour of darkness is drawing nigh. My master…"

"…will burst forth from his prison and rain vengeance on all who dare oppose him." Zelda stopped crying and stared in horror as Cimar repeated the sentence again. He didn't know how he knew it, he had no knowledge of how he had said it, he just…had. A flood of pictures stampeded through his mind. He watched as he approached a door and knocked; watched as Zelda opened the door, watched as he hit her, saw the terror in her eyes as he removed his dagger from the king's body. His mind cleared and he realized that everyone was staring at him in disbelief.

"I saw it all just now…I saw it all" he said, as Link slowly rose out of his seat, never moving his eyes from his friend. "I am the one who did it…I murdered the king." Cimar slumped to his knees while Malon gasped in horror. He was responsible; he saw it happen there was no denying it.

It seemed like an eternity before there was any sound in the room. Malon was the first to speak and her words burst forth like a flood.

"It wasn't you Cimar! I know it wasn't you. You have been with me the entire day; there is no way that you could have committed this crime. Stop blaming yourself for something that you didn't do!" She pleaded as she grabbed him into a hug and held him; her tears now staining his tunic. He slowly turned his gaze towards her as she looked up at him, her eyes begging him to believe her.

"But I saw it all just now…I remember what I said when I was running away, the sites, the sounds…I remember it all."

"BUT THAT WASN'T YOU!" Malon screamed at him. "Those aren't your memories. Someone is placing those thoughts in your mind." Cimar stared out the window of the room, noticing that the sun was starting to set. He could see the spires of the temple of time, rising up into the air, the sun glinting off of the marble edifice.

"I have to turn myself in…I am the guilty one." He tried to stand but couldn't as Malon dragged him back down to the floor. "Stop blaming yourself!" She yelled again. "It wasn't you!"

"Cimar, I have to agree with Malon, how could you have been in two places at once?" Link turned to Zelda who looked at him like he had just slapped her in the face.

"Are you suggesting that I am lying Link?" she asked.

'No, not at all. I believe it when you say that you saw Cimar there in the room, I just can not believe that it was him. There must be someone out there you looks like him who did this. Something about all of this does not seem right." Link ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. All of this just wasn't adding up. Zelda said she saw Cimar while he knew that Cimar and Malon had left for Lake Hylia. He had personally escorted them to the gates of the city himself. When he had came back to the temple of time, he saw guards rushing about frantically and ran inside to see Zelda crying over the body of her father. Cimar had never left his sight in all that time. How could somebody be in two places at once, it just didn't seem possible…

"I believe that Cimar did kill the king." Everyone turned towards the voice as they heard the door to the room close. Impa stood in the doorway, one hand on the hilt of a small sword that she was carrying. Malon dropped to the ground in shock as Impa walked forwards towards Cimar, who turned to watch Impa close on where he sat. He stood up and faced her as she stopped directly in front of him.

"Again, I believe that Cimar did kill your father Zelda…" Impa said as she released the grip on her sword and raised both hands in front of her, creating a symbol of an eye with her hands "Although I do not believe it was our Cimar who did it." Everyone in the room stared at the attendant as she closed her eyes and started to whisper in a language none of them recognized. Her hands started to glow as she continued to chant. After another few seconds, Impa stopped and opened her eyes, which now glowed a deep sapphire, unlike their normal red. The light from her hands shot forward and enveloped Cimar in a cloud of light, lifting him slightly off of the ground. Malon backed away and stood up near where Zelda and Link were standing.

"What is she doing to him?" she asked, fear in every word.

"I don't know…" was the reply from both Zelda and Link as they stared back at Cimar, who was now standing limp in the air, surrounded by the light from Impa's magic.

The air in the room swirled around, blowing out a few of the candles in the room. Dark shafts of light started to shoot out from Cimar's floating form, sounding like lighting at each appearance. His body shuddered each time one of the shafts shot out of him and Malon gasped each time, praying that he would be alright.

"Impa, stop, please your hurting him." Malon cried as she watched Cimar shudder violently as another piece of energy flew from his body, spinning in the air for a moment before disappearing. The beams of dark light started to become less and less until with one last burst of light, Cimar's body went limp.

Cimar's limp form slowly descended until his feet touched the ground. As they touched the hard surface, the light disappeared completely and he crumpled to the ground unmoving. Impa closed her eyes and when they opened, they no longer held the azure hue and were again their normal red. She sat down in a chair, beads of sweat rolling down her face as Malon rushed over to where Cimar lay. She pulled him up, holding his head and shoulders in her arms.

"Cimar, Cimar. Are you alright? Are you ok?" She heard a groan and saw him slowly open his eyes, his hand reaching for the back of his head.

"What happened?" he muttered as he rubbed the back of his head and sat up straighter. "Malon," he turned towards her, "what happened to me?" his question was cut off as Malon cried for joy and kissed him, blocking out whatever else he had to say. As she released, tears still rolling down her cheeks.

"I performed an ancient sheikah ritual for cleansing dark spirits from a person's body. Your body went limp near the end and Malon apparently thought you had died." Impa looked down at Malon who was still hugging Cimar as he stared up at Impa.

"Apparently, someone, or something had placed dark energy inside of your body in the form of false memories. It is an ancient form of dark magic that very few sheikah, or any person for that matter has mastered. Its power comes from an ancient darkness, one that even the three goddesses had thought they cleansed from the land." Impa stopped for a minute, allowing what she had said to sink in. Malon helped Cimar back into a chair while Link and Zelda sat down beside them, facing Impa.

"You mean to say, that someone, placed memories inside my mind? That I am not responsible for the king's death?" Cimar felt an immense load suddenly float off of his back. He sighed in relief but was still shaken by how real the memories had seemed.

"Yes, those memories were placed in your mind in the hopes that you would accept responsibility for the king's death." Impa sighed before continuing, picking her words carefully before continuing. "Whoever did this was to you was hoping that you eventually be sentenced to death for a crime that you didn't commit because of those false memories."

"But how does that explain the fact that I saw him murder my father?" Zelda asked. She believed what her attendant was saying but couldn't get over the fact that she had seen him with her own eyes.

Impa looked deep in thought as if trying to remember something before she continued speaking. She looked up at each of them before standing up to face them. "Come with me, and all will make sense."

* * *

Impa led them to her personal study that was next to Zelda's bedroom and led them inside. A large book stood open on her desk that Zelda recognized as the Book of Murdora. As they drew closer, she could see several spots that were marked as if they were recently discovered. She led them around the table and pointed towards one of the marked passages in the book. Zelda looked towards the others who nodded their heads and she started to read the passage that Impa had been pointing at.

"_After the war which never was fought, the lands of peace shall be thrown in chaos. A king shall fall at the hands of shadows and evil shall infest the lands. An ancient evil will revive the shadows of those who stand for the power of light. Each being shall then, find its other and all balance shall be lost…"_

Zelda paused and looked at Impa who motioned for her to continue reading.

"_When all seems lost, and balanced broken, the mirror shall the light seek, where worlds connect; and light and dark meet. A battle for Balance shall thence be waged and if darkness succeeds, light shall forever find its grave."_

Zelda stopped reading and sat down in the chair, rubbing her temple in confusion. "Why did you want me to read that, it doesn't explain how Cimar could have been in two places at once?" She looked questionably up at Impa who stood impassive to her question.

"Each person who has ever lived in Hyrule has another side to them, their shadow if you will. These shadows usually inhabit a realm that the sheikah refer to as the Twilight Realm, since the only way for the shadows to survive is if they have perpetual twilight in which to live. An example of one of those shadow beings is Dark Link, who is the shadow of Link. The only way they can be summoned from the shadow realm is by either using dark magic to summon them or to use something called the mirror of twilight."

"Hold on a second, you mean to say that there is another world just like Hyrule that has a copy of each of us?" Cimar asked.

"Yes, that is correct. Each of us has a shadow that lives in the other realm. Cimar's shadow must have been released into this realm by an ancient darkness to frame him for this murder and then that same power placed those memories into his mind." Impa turned to face Zelda who was still sitting slumped in her chair. "Zelda, when you saw Cimar, was there anything unusually about the color of his hair or physical features?"

Zelda thought for a moment… "Yes…" she replied, "he did seem to have a slightly darker shade or brown hair than usual and his eyes seemed to be more red than usual."

Impa sighed in relief, "That means that it was his shadow that attacked and murdered the king. There is a spell that can alter the physical appearance of a persons shadow but it cannot totally hide their true selves and it usually can only mask them for a few minutes, an hour at the most. The most telling aspect of a person's dark half is that they have dark black hair and crimson eyes. That spell that I performed on Cimar a few minutes ago would have destroyed the affects of the spell and would have revealed if Cimar was truly the Cimar that we know. Zelda, your father was murdered by a dark version of Cimar, just like how Link has his own shadow called Dark Link. Do you understand?"

Zelda nodded her head slowly, understanding what Impa had said. Each person has their own shadow from another realm. She still didn't understand how all of this tied in with the Book of Mudora though. She looked up to see that Malon had a glazed look in her eyes, still trying to soak up the fact that there are two Cimar's wandering around in Hyrule. Malon shook her head and looked back at Impa.

"So if everybody has a dark half and they can only be summoned by either passing through the mirror of twilight or being summoned by dark magic, how does that tie into what Zelda read in that book or what happened today?"

Impa nodded slowly, making sure she had heard Malon's question right.

"In order for you to fully understand the events of today, you will need to hear a legend passed down by the sheikah that explains these two worlds. This story that has been passed down to me tells of how there was once a mirror that connected two worlds together. Through this mirror, the people of both worlds could pass to and fro and each world prospered. As the legend goes, one day several thousand years ago, a corrupt man entered into the other world, searching for a power of incredibly proportions. He found that power which was stored in the form of a mask and as soon as he touched it, the power that was in the mask consumed him. With the power of the mask at his disposal he laid waste to that land, and destroyed all light that came from that realm, created a land covered by endless twilight. After the destruction of the other realm, he then tried to use the mirror to enter into this realm. The ancient sages, sensing this evil, shattered the mirror as he tried to pass through it, destroying his power and his body as a result. However, the power of the mask was not destroyed but fell to the ground in front of the sages. The sages, realizing that this power could never again be wielded, put a seal on the mask and hid it from the world so that its destructive powers could never again be used."

"What was the name of this mask?" Impa paused, raising an eyebrow as she looked at Link who was staring intently at her. "Why do you ask Link?"

"I was just interested in knowing the name of it, that's all." Impa stared at him more closely, causing him to fidget slightly. "You know the name of this mask don't you Link? It is called the Fierce Deity mask since it is believed that the power of a deity rests inside of the mask."

Link's face paled as he heard the name. "You know of this mask then, don't you Link." He nodded, "Yes, I know of that mask and I have used it as well during my adventure in Termina as a child, although I didn't realize what it was when I used it."

Everyone stared at Link in disbelief. He had not only seen the mask, but had used its deadly power. Link fidgeted under the stares of those around him. "I didn't keep it though. After I defeated the monster known as Majora I threw it away because I sensed evil emanating from it."

Impa's eyes flared in anger, "You threw it away? Instead of keeping such a dangerous object you threw it away so someone else could find it and might fall under its control! You stupid child! How could you have done such a thing? Since we know that Dark Link and Dark Cimar have been summoned to this world it means that somebody has found the mask and has fallen under its control. The mask is using that person to open the path between the Twilight Realm and Hyrule. Thanks to your recklessness, Hyrule now faces a danger that makes Ganondorf look like a mere child!" Impa stared directly into the face of Link who swallowed apprehensively.

"Because of what you did, the fierce deity has returned and will try to destroy Hyrule at all costs. You might have doomed us all."

* * *

**Ok, that chapter had a lot of information in it so let me explain if you are confused. There are two realms, a shadow realm (twilight realm) and a light realm (Hyrule). Cimar's shadow, (Dark Cimar, the guy from the past chapter) killed the king after being transported across from the twilight realm (along with Dark Link, Dark Zelda and you can guess who) in order for Cimar to be murdered by the outraged citizenry of Hyrule for the crime. Fake memories were placed in his head so he would believe that he did it but Impa saved him. **

**Impa shows them the book of Murdora, explains the shadow realm to them and the legend of the Fierce Deity's mask. Link says how he threw it away, somebody has picked it up and now the Fierce Deity is trying to destroy Hyrule. I hope that makes sense. ;**

**Please review and if you have any questions on this chapter, please send me it and I'll answer it for you. Thanks.**


	20. Chapter 18: Sweeet Memories & Nightmares

**If your still here after the last chapter, thank you for sticking it out.** D

* * *

**Chapter 18**

**Sanctity's Requiem**

The room fell silent as Impa finished her tirade and sat down in a huff near the door holding her head in her hands. What Impa had said took a long time to sink in for the people in the room. The most powerful evil that had ever walked Hyrule had returned, and it was partly Link's fault to make matters worse. The only good that had come out of the discussion was that they were able to figure out the Cimar was innocent of murdering the king for which he was greatly relieved. Tomorrow Zelda would announce that Cimar was not the man responsible for her father's death so he would be able to walk around the castle and town, without much fear for his life. Cimar protested vehemently when Zelda said that he would have a guard escort for himself and Malon whenever they went outside the castle walls, although it was either that or they wouldn't be able to leave the castle again. He grumpily agreed yet was satisfied to know that Malon would always be protected to matter where she went.

That night's sleep for all of them was not a restful one. The funeral for the king was going to be held in two days and the knowledge that a Dark Cimar was running about Hyrule was troubling enough as is but made the job of security for the funeral a nightmare. After making the declaration to the citizens of Hyrule that Cimar was not the man responsible for the death of her father, the people trusted their princess and welcomed Cimar back into Hylian life for the most part. There were still some that thought he was responsible and showed their feelings towards him whenever they saw him.

The one person who kept the busiest surprisingly however was Link. After Impa's discussion the night before, he had gone to the library in the castle and had locked himself in for the entire day. At one point Zelda became worried and went in to check on him and found him hiding behind a stack of dusty old tomes, trying to find out as much about the Shadow Realm and the mirror known as the mirror of Twilight.

After sitting around the castle the entire day, Malon was bored. Cimar had gone to plan out the security arrangement with Impa for the funeral, Link was still in the library reading about ancient Hylian legends and Zelda was being kept busy with the members of the Hylian counsel since now that her father was gone, she would have to take over the responsibilities of the kingdom. She on the other hand had nothing to do. Usually she would be taking the horses out to the pasture one last time and bale the hay for the next day at the ranch but because of the new security arrangements she had to stay at the castle or try to do her chores at the ranch with guards standing in her way. She was sitting in the courtyard in the middle of the castle, watching as the rest of Hyrule passed her by. She sighed, her boredom almost complete. This was a great way to spend the first day of your married life, stuck in a castle with nothing to do all the while wondering if the next time you saw your husband if it would really be her husband and not his darker half.

For the better half of today she had wandered aimlessly around the castle with her one guard that was assigned to her until she had finally found this courtyard that she was currently in. She laid back in the soft grass near one of the rose bushes while her guard stood at the entrance to the yard. She watched the clouds slowly meander across the sky, reminding her of all the times she had spent in the pasture doing this exact same thing, with Cimar at, _their_ place. Almost everyday up until their wedding he had taken her to that spot, next to the tree outside of the ranch. She closed her eyes, contemplating one of the happy memories there which took away the cares and worry that she was feeling as of late. Three weeks ago Cimar had blindfolded her after they had a picnic at their secret place and had placed her up on a horse with him. He rode around in what seemed like circles for almost an hour until he stopped and had taken the blindfold off of her eyes…

* * *

_"Hey Mal, we're here." She heard as she felt his hands around her head, removing her blindfold and unveiling the place where they had arrived. She gasped, as the beauty of the spot took her breath away. She was standing in a forest clearing at the edge of a cliff. A small waterfall, no larger than thirty feet slid down the side of the cliff and fell into a pool of water, disappearing into a stream that vanished into the forest._

_"Cimar…how did you find this place…" she asked, walking forward taking in the splendor that surrounded her, "It's so, beautiful…"_

_"It wasn't that great, besides, it only became a beautiful spot when you arrived and graced the land with your presence."_

_She blushed furiously and playfully pushed him away. "So why did you bring me here?" she asked as she walked up to the waterfall and put her hand under the water, letting the cool water run against her hand. On a hot day like today, this place was a paradise. The trees provided enough shade to keep away a lot of the heat but at the same time, allowed enough in to warm the water so it wasn't too cold, the perfect temperature for swimming. _

_She heard Cimar walking towards her, his boots scrapping against the rocks near the cliff as he approached. Malon turned around to face him as he stopped next to her and admired the clearing next to her._

_"I thought that it would be a nice break to be away from the cows and horses for a day and you needed a break from your work. I wouldn't want you to turn into one by staying with them as much as you do." She turned and scoffed at him, putting her hands to her hips. "And I guess you thought I smelt like one so I needed to get away for a day."_

_Cimar backed away a step shaking his hands in front of him, "That's not what I meant Mal…wait, are you joking with me?" Her serious face broke down and she started to laugh, the sound ringing through the clearing. Cimar smiled, "That was the reason why I wanted for you to come here, you complete this place and turn it into perfection. She stared at him for a few seconds before walking towards him. She reached around and held him in her arms, staring up into his eyes._

* * *

She felt the sun's warming rays suddenly fade from her face and opened her eyes, wishing that her memories had not been interrupted. She looked up to see that a dark cloud had passed in front of the sun, taking away its rays from her blissful state. She sat up and leaned on her elbows as the sun finally peaked out from behind its hiding place. She heard a rustling behind her but before she could turn, two hands cupped around her eyes. 

"Guess who?"

Malon laughed quietly, realizing that even though her memories were wonderful, reality was even better. "Let me guess…is it Mido?" The hands left from in front of her eyes as she turned around to see Cimar looking slighted. "How could you think that I was that little guy, I don't sound like him at all!" He broke into a grin and helped her out onto her feet.

"Follow me, I have a special place I want to show you, come on." He held out his hand as she took it as he led her out of the courtyard. He spoke with the guard and told him that he wasn't needed any more. He saluted as he left down the hall, his boots clicking as they hit the stony surface. Cimar grinned down at her and led her around the castle. They went this way and that, up stairs and down them again.

"Where are we going, are we almost there?" she asked with a little laugh, "my feet are hurt from all this walking." It really wasn't a walk; it was more like a slow jog that they were moving at.

"Its right in here" he said as he opened a door and led her inside. Inside was a dusty room that looked like it had not been used in some time. She sneezed as Cimar closed the door as the dust from the floor flew into the air. She heard a click from behind her and turned around to see Cimar lock the door behind him. She heard him chuckle as he turned around.

"I see that it is still relatively easy to break into the castle nowadays, even with the extra security." He said as he faced her. There was a slight menacing tone in his voice that was different from how he usually spoke.

"Cimar, why are we in this room? It doesn't look like anybody has been in here for months, if not years." She walked around the table in the center of the room, wiping a finger across it, leaving a dust free trail in her wake.

"The reason why I brought you here is because nobody will think of looking for you here" he said, his voice becoming more menacing than before. This time she noticed his tone and looked up in surprise at how he had worded his answer, _because nobody will think of looking for you here._ Cimar shook his head and to Malon's surprise, the light brown hair that she loved started to disappear, replaced by darker and darker shades of brown. He rubbed his hand through his hair and at the last of the brown disappeared completely, replaced by the darkest black she had ever seen.

"Cimar? What are you doing...?" she asked, fear starting to appear in her voice as she started backing away from him.

He stopped approaching her and smiled, "Whoops, I think I forgot something, here let me fix that." He shook his head again and blinked his eyes rapidly. He rubbed at them and when he finally opened them again, the bright blue eyes that she had grown to love had disappeared, replaced by the deepest crimson she had ever seen.

"Hello Malon, I've been waiting to see you for the longest time." Malon let out a scream as he approached her before he grabbed her neck, stopping the shriek in her throat.

* * *

Cimar and Impa were busy looking at maps of the Temple of Time where the funeral was to be held when they heard a scream echo throughout the castle. He had heard that scream before and looked at Impa with fear in his face. Impa stared back at him, registering his fear and realizing who it was that the voice belong to…

"Malon."

* * *

She tried to scream again after escaping from his grasp but no sound would come out. After he had grabbed her the first time she had tried to grab whatever was near her and found a small vase and smashed it into his head. Luckily for her it was an old ink pot and still had some ink left in it. The pot had smashed the instant it hit him and the ink had pored into his face, blinding him temporarily. She had taken the moment to run to the door, unlock it and flee into the hallway, with Dark Cimar running blindly after her.

She tried to remember the path back to the courtyard but all of the twists and turns that he had taken her on had left her completely confused. She heard pounding behind her and risked a quick look. The man who she had thought was her husband was racing to catch up to her, his red eyes blazing in anger. She ran around a corner and saw some stairs. She raced towards them, dashing blindly down them with wild abandon and heard him screaming at her, cursing her name as he got closer and closer to her. At the end of the stairs she leapt to the side and when she heard him right about to exit the stairs, she put her arm out across the stairwell. She felt as her arm connected with him and watched as his eyes widened in pain as he clutched at his throat while flying through the air and landed with a sickening crunch. Running down one of the side hallways she heard him gasping for air on the floor. As she turned a corner she almost ran straight into two people that were turning the corner at the exact same time she was.

She felt herself falling to the floor before two hands caught her before she hit the ground. Looking up, she started to scream but stopped herself when she saw a man with blue eyes and brown hair staring back at her. He helped her to her feet and she grasped him in a hug, not wanting to let go.

"What happened Mal? We heard you scream and tried to find where you were."

Malon tried to talk but her voice still wasn't responding to her pleas. She pointed around the corner and tugged at the real Cimar's arm. Cimar looked over at Impa who drew a pair of sheikah throwing knives and held them at the ready as they started for the corner. The sound of running could be heard coming from the hall and they watched as a man with dark black hair turned the corner, his eyes widening when he saw the sheikah and the real Cimar standing in front of him. He started to turn but Impa was quicker. She threw one of her knives, satisfied when he screamed in pain and fell to the floor clutching at the knife that stuck out of his right leg. He grimaced in pain yet tried to get up again to run but felt something cold slide next to his neck. He looked down in panic at a knife that was held directly above his throat, held by his alternate self.

"You…" Dark Cimar gulped as he heard the real Cimar speak, the blade cutting into his neck when he did, a tiny trickle of blood forming at the wound.

"You are going to wish you had never have come to this world." The knife twisted away from his throat and he watched as it was twirled around. He felt the hilt slam into the side of his head before he blacked out.

* * *

**I decided that I would throw in a chapter with some action after that last chapter. Please review what you think about the story so far and any ideas you have on how to label the Dark characters and Light Characters to make it easier to understand who is who.**


	21. Chapter 19: Plans Revealed

**Chapter 19**

**Plans Revealed**

"Now that you are the last heir to the throne alive, and are of age…we of the council agree that you should be crowned Queen as soon as you are able to in order for peace to be re-established in the kingdom. As the new Queen, your new duties would be…"

"ZELDA!"

Zelda turned with a start as the door to the council chambers burst open, Cimar and Impa running through it, dragging a figure behind them. Malon was running behind them, holding what appeared to be a dagger towards the unconscious figure. The council members turned in surprise and as the running figures drew near, gasps could be heard as they started to whisper among themselves.

"Impa, Cimar, Malon what you are doing here?"

"We found the man who murdered the king." Gasps filled the chamber as the members of the council stood to get a better view of the man being dragged behind the threesome. "He was in the castle and was about to murder Malon." Cimar quickly said as he dropped the man unceremoniously to the ground.

Zelda walked towards the figure on the floor and gasped when she finally saw the man's face. The man lying on the floor looked exactly like Cimar; the only difference was that his hair was jet black. Zelda would have bet her crown that if his eyes were open, that they would be blood red as well.

"How did he get in, why was he after Malon, how did you catch him?" Zelda asked, the questions coming out as quickly as she could think of them. Impa raised a hand, motioning for the princess to slow down. "Please princess Zelda…"

"Queen, Zelda is her title now" interrupted a short council member as he re-adjusted his glasses. "It has been agreed upon that she should be crowned Queen after the funeral tomorrow."

"Queen, princess it doesn't matter right now" Zelda replied quickly shooting a look at the council member who sat back down in his seat "what matters is that we question this man immediately. As of right now, you are all excused. Would you please leave this room immediately."

She heard the sound of chairs scrapping against the floor and muttering as the council members left the room, most of them taking one last look at the prone figure on the floor. Zelda nodded as the last of them left and turned to Impa.

"Impa, find Link as quickly as possible and tell him to come here as quickly as possible, also, bring some rope with you so we can bind this man to a chair." Impa nodded curtly and disappeared out the door, heading in the direction of the library. Zelda turned to face one of the guards that stood off in one of the corners of the room and smiled.

"Sastur, come here."

The guard sauntered over to where Zelda stood and bowed low, "Yes your highness?"

He was Zelda's personal bodyguard now after Link had told of his skills in battle. She questioned Link's sanity when he had first approached her with the idea since she clearly remembered her first meeting with him. Link decided to show his skills to her instead and lined five of the castles elite guardsmen up against Sastur. Less than three minutes later, the five guards lay on the ground moaning while Sastur stood above them, smiling cheerfully. At that moment she had made him her personal bodyguard and he had not left his post since.

"Sastur, go find General Dagoron and tell him to post more sentries around and inside the castle walls. Tell him that princess demands it."

"Will you be ok without my services your highness?" he asked looking a bit concerned as he looked down at the unconscious figure near his feet.

"Yes, I should be as long as you get back here quickly that is." He smiled and gave a quick salute before jogging out of the room, the sound of his boots quickly fading into the hall. A new set of boots could be heard coming from outside the room and Link came sliding into view, barely stopping in time to turn into the door.

"You found him?" he asked. He walked forward and felt something soft under his feet and the sound of moaning. Link jumped off of the man on the floor grinning slightly, "I guess you did find him. Where was he and how was he captured?"

Cimar beamed, "You should ask Malon that question, she was the one that found him and helped catch him." Malon blushed slightly and nodded as shock registered on Link and Zelda's faces. "You did what?" they both asked at the same time, their mouths hanging open.

'Well, it's not like I wanted to find him. He found me out in your courtyard Zelda when he was disguised as Cimar and I thought it was you" she said turning to Cimar who had taken a seat at the large table that stretched across the room. He was staring at the man lying on the floor but looked up at the mention of his name. "Is their disguise really that good? That a disgusting person like that could look like me?" he asked.

Malon looked down feeling a bit of shame for falling for an imposter.

"Yes, the magic that works their disguise is really that effective, that is why Zelda here was entirely convinced that it was you who murdered her father." Impa walked into the room and closed the door behind her. Malon looked up and saw Zelda give her a reassuring glance. It was one thing for a friend to believe they saw Cimar, but he was her husband. She should have known that it wasn't him, was her connection and love for him so shallow as to fall for an imposter?

"Malon, could you continue?" Malon started out of he thoughts as Link looked up at her and asked her the question again.

"Sorry, I was thinking of something else there… Anyways, he said he had a surprise for me and led me to an abandoned room somewhere in the castle. I don't know where because he led me around almost everywhere it seemed and I've only been here a couple of times so…"

"It's ok Malon, just keep going" Zelda said as she smiled softly at her.

"Well, when we got to the room, he locked the door behind him and started to laugh. He said something like he had been waiting a long time to see me. He shook his head and his hair started to turn black and his eyes turned blood red. I tried to scream when he approached me but he did something to me and I couldn't talk anymore. He tried to grab me but I grabbed a pot filled with ink and hit him with it.

Zelda leaned down and saw that the man's face was covered in a dark liquid. At first she thought it was blood but at a closer look it was indeed ink.

"After that, I ran to the door and started running for my life, all the while hearing him cursing and threatening me as he chased me." Malon stopped as she heard a groan originate from the floor of the room. Everyone's heads turned to watch as the perfect twin of Cimar moved his hands and started to try and lift himself up. Before anyone could do anything, Cimar leapt off of his chair and brought his hand down across the back of his darker half's neck, crumpling the man back to the floor. Everyone looked over at Cimar who simply shrugged his shoulders as he sat back down in his seat.

"What, he deserved it." Cimar said blankly, folding his arms across his chest while leaning back in the chair.

Zelda rolled her eyes while Link started to chuckle. Malon quietly thanked Cimar for his fast reaction because if he would have waited another second she would have done the exact same thing. Cimar had changed her, not by much, but she was starting to notice it. Malon cleared her throat and started to tell the rest of the story.

"I ran down some stairs and hid next to where it came out into the hall and waited for him to run by. When he did, I threw my arm in front of him and caught him in the neck. I thought that it was the only way for me to escape. I ran after that and the next corner I rounded I ran straight into you two. After that, when he rounded the corner after me, Impa hit him in his leg with one of her knives and Cimar knocked him out, then dragged him here."

Silence pervaded the room after Malon finished, each person wanting to absorb her story before saying anything. When the silence was broken, it was Cimar who was first to speak.

"So I guess now we throw him into prison and interrogate him about what he was planning to do with Malon and why he killed the king then."

"Not quite Cimar," replied Zelda. "I believe that Impa can get all of the information that we need right now, isn't that correct Impa?"

The sheikah nodded, "That is correct; however I will need to have him awake in order to extract the information out of him. An unconscious mind can prove to be a very unreliable source of information. Also, if he is going to be awake, we need to have him bound so that he can't escape no matter what he tries."

Link and Cimar turned and nodded at each other as they hefted Dark Cimar onto their shoulders and shoved him into one of the chairs around the table. Impa revealed some rope that she had managed to find while looking for Link and quickly tied him to the chair so that the only part of his body that could move would be his head.

"There is one last thing I will need you all to do before I wake him." Impa said, staring at each of the people in the room. "I will need for all of you to leave." A chorus of yells greeted her and she groaned silently to herself, knowing that it was going to happen.

"What!"

"You can't be serious!"  
"Why?"

"Silence, please, I have my reasons for this decision."

"But Impa," Zelda pleaded walking towards her attendant, "We can't leave you with him. He murdered my father, tried to murder Malon and for all we know could try to kill you!"

"I agree with Zelda Impa," Malon quickly added, "That man is dangerous, even if he is bound hand and foot he could injure or kill you."

"I know the risks involved, yet in order to get the information we need, I and I alone need to talk to him. Believe it or not but I have dealt with far worse creatures than the people of shadow. If I need any help, I will call for you however, I need to try and do this by myself first. Trust me; I know what I am doing." She stared at each of them, seeing the questioning looks in their eyes, knowing that even with all of her pleas they would still not trust her alone with Dark Cimar.

"Impa?"

"Yes Zelda?"

"If this is the only way you can find out if he murdered my father and to find out what any of his other plans were, then use any method you know of to get that information. We will be waiting for you outside the door. Be careful, we don't know what he is capable of."

Impa smiled at the concern in the princess's voice. "I will."

They slowly filed out of the room with Zelda leaving last, taking one last look at Impa before she closed the door. She had lost a father just a day previous and did not want to lose the attendant that had been like a mother to her. As the door closed, Impa turned towards the sunken figure sitting in the chair. It had been a long time since she had interrogated somebody. She cracked her knuckles then reached into a pouch on her belt, pulling out a small orange powder. Yes, it had been a long time and she needed to make sure she wasn't rusty.

* * *

It had been several hours since they had left the room and they were still sitting outside of the council chambers. Sastur had returned several minutes after they had begun waiting and reported back that general Dagoron had posted more guards around the castle and also as a precaution, had ordered the army to high alert in case someone tried to break into the castle to free their prisoner. 

Link yawned and stretched his arms while looking out the window. The sun was started to set which meant that Impa had been in there for almost four hours now. He was started to become worried. _What was taking her so long?_ His hands played around with the cucco bone on his plate, all that was left of the dinner that the servants had brought them. He looked around the hallway at the people around him. Zelda was sitting in a chair holding a staring contest with the door to the room where Impa was and appeared to be winning. He gaze had never moved from that door, even when the servants had brought them their dinner for the night. Her plate lay untouched on the floor to his concern.

Sastur was leaning against the wall next to Zelda, his eyes darting to and fro, always watching and waiting as if something was going to happen. Cimar and Malon had been sitting next to each other until Malon had fallen asleep. The event of the day had taken its toll and now her head lay on Cimar's shoulder, who had fallen asleep as well. They both lay propped up against each other, keeping the other from falling onto the floor. Link grinned when he examined them further and noticed that they were holding hands as well. He was glad that Malon had finally found someone who cared about her as much as Link did. It wasn't that he regretted marrying Zelda, far from it. It was just that every time he had come over to visit her, she always seemed a little less cheery than the time before. Her smiles seemed to come and go quicker and even her laugh seemed to have lost its warmth. It had worried him to see one of his best friends slowly losing the joy they had in life. Cimar had changed that. Her cheeriness had returned fourfold and her smiles and laughter always seemed to follow her wherever she went. The month that had led up to her marriage to Cimar was the happiest Link had ever seen her. He remembered hearing from one of the eye stones near the temple of time that Malon had been waiting for a knight in shining armor to sweep her off her feet. Well, it looked like he had arrived and Link couldn't be happier.

His memories slowly drew back to the present and his worry for Impa returned. Nobody had spoken for fear that it would interrupt whatever she was doing and they had heard no sounds issuing from the room, not even the sound of a chair scrapping across the floor. Even the sound of two swords clanging against each other would have been a welcome reprieve from the unbroken and hideous silence. The sudden sound of a chair grating across stone dispelled the silence and Link looked up to see Zelda stand up and start moving towards the door.

'I can't take this any longer, I have to know what is going on in there!" she cried as she started to grab the door knob. She felt as a hand covered her and pulled hers away from the door. Turning around she looked straight into the eyes of Link.

"Impa said she would be fine. We would have heard noises by now if something bad had happened" he whispered into her ear, trying to make as little noise as possible.

"I know" she whispered back, "I know, I just can't….I just can't stand this silence anymore, its driving me crazy. I have to know that she is alright." She said, both her voice and eyes showing betraying the worry she held over her attendant.

"I'm sure she is alright Zel, she will come out when she is finished gathering whatever information she is gathering." He led her back over to her chair and helped her sit down in it. He grabbed the plate of food that had been sitting on the ground and held it up to her while he crouched next to her. "You might as well eat something since I doubt you had anything to eat when you were in those meetings all morning."

Before Zelda could dismiss the food her stomach let out a low grumble, signifying that her stomach had decided otherwise. They both let out a small laugh. In reality she was starving yet she didn't feel like eating when she didn't know what was going on beyond that door in front of her. Her stomach growled again and she knew that it would be pointless to disagree with it. She took the plate of food away from Link and tore into it as quickly as she could, abandoning all aspects of etiquette and manners.

"Your welcome" Link chuckled as he sat down against the wall with a soft thud as he hit the stone floor of the hall. Zelda quickly finished the rest of the food and dropped the plate to the ground on the opposite side of Link. With a loud crash the plate shattered into hundreds of pieces. Sastur jumped slightly and reached for his sword at his belt. Cimar and Malon bolted awake, looking around trying to find the origin of the crash. Link jumped up to face Zelda who was now holding her head in her hands sobbing quietly.

Link reached around Zelda and held her in his arms as she cried, whispering softly to her. She looked up at him; her eyes reddened and fell into his arms, her sobs beginning anew. He looked up at Cimar and Malon who were staring at Zelda intently and motioned with one hand that everything was ok. With a reassuring nod, Malon and Cimar went back to leaning against the wall and were soon sleeping peacefully again. After a few minutes, Zelda started to quiet, her tears starting to slow.

"I'm sorry, Link…I don't know what came over me. I just thought about my father and…" she wiped at her eyes, wiping away the few tears that had lingered.

"I know how you are feeling right now and it is ok. He was your father and the only family you had left in this world. It's ok to cry, really it is." She stifled a small sob and looked up into Link's face as she tried to smile but ended up turning towards the door again. She felt Links hand on her cheek and turned to see him staring at her, his cerulean eyes awash with care.

"She'll be aright, just you wait, just you wait…"

They both stared in silence towards the room that held one of the last people from Zelda's childhood and waited patiently. Another hour passed and Zelda had slowly begun to nod off. A few minutes later and she was asleep in his arms. He breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that she was finally resting from the torture that had marked the past day for her. He kept up the vigil, watching the door while everyone slept around him. Another hour passed and Link's head started to nod up and down. It had been six hours and still no sounds had come from the room. The sun had set, covering the land in twilight as the last of the light started to fade away. Sastur was sitting on the ground snoring softly to the amusement of Link. The seventh hour came and went like the last and Link could not stay awake any longer as he started to nod off.

Whether it was a second later, a minute or even an hour he didn't know but the sound of a door creaking open woke Link from his slumber. His eyes opened instantly and started to get up but stopped himself as he realized Zelda was still asleep in his arms. He looked up and to his relief Impa stood before him. She closed the door softly and motioned with her hands if Link could follow her. He hesitated for a second, then as carefully as he could so he wouldn't wake his wife; he got out from under her and laid her gently on the floor. Taking off his hat, he laid it under her head as a pillow before walking away a couple of feet where Impa stood.

"Well, what happened in there?" he whispered in as soft a voice as he could muster.

"It is true that he did kill the king" Link's mind let out a silent cheer knowing now that his friend was truly innocent. "However, tonight's raid on the castle was only the first of several steps in a plan that, if successful would end in the destruction of Hyrule and the death of all of its citizens."

Link looked quizzically at Impa. "Surely his plan couldn't have succeeded. He is only one man." Impa shook her head and Link started to frown. "You mean there are others here as well?"

"Yes, there are three others here besides him, in fact, the shadows of all four of you, Cimar, Malon, Zelda and yourself are in Hyrule as we speak."

"What is their plan then? Why did he try to sneak into the castle like he did and why did he go after Malon?" Link asked after a minute of silence.

"Their plan in its simple form is this; they had planned on kidnapping Malon to use as a sacrifice to break the seal on the fierce deity's mask. With the seal broken, the full power of the fierce deity would be unleashed on Hyrule destroying all who stand in his way." Impa shook her head and sighed. "They plan on conquering Hyrule as they did the shadow realm so many millennia ago. If they succeed" she started to whisper even more quietly than before, "it will end with annihilation of every living thing in this world."

* * *

**Another long chapter that took a long time for me to write but I hope you enjoyed it though. Please review what you think about the story so far and I'll try and post the next chapter tomorrow. **


	22. Chapter 20: A Bitter Revenge

**Sorry, I got caught up with some things yesterday and forgot to update, sorry about that. Hope you like this chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter 20**

**A Bitter Revenge**

Impa and Link quickly woke the others as Impa explained to them what she had found out. Malon looked horrified at the thought of another invasion since she could remember what had happened just a month back. The only part that truly stunned all of them was when Impa told them about how each of their dark selves were in Castle Town at this very moment.

"Impa, Sastur, I want you to guard this door until we get back. If he tries to escape, knock him out. Impa, go find the general and inform him to send out his soldiers to search Castle Town for the rest of his group. The rest of you will follow me." Link started to protest even before she finished.

"Why are all of us going, we should be staying here guarding Dark Cimar while Sastur informs the general." Zelda stared icily at Link.

"Because if we were to stay and he tried to escape I wouldn't take him prisoner again, he would be dead and we still might need him for information. Sastur will know how to deal with him if he tries to escape; besides I don't want to risk the chance of one of us mistaking Dark Cimar for the real thing. This way there is no way he could fool us."

Link couldn't argue any further. Zelda was right and she looked around to see if anyone would dare to disagree. Cimar opened his mouth to protest but Link put a hand over it to muffle him. Zelda smiled, "I'm glad that we are in agreement then. Now if you will follow me we need to make several stops along the way before we meet with the general." Cimar, Malon and Link all nodded and quickly took step behind the princess as she led them through the castle.

"Zelda." Everyone turned when they heard Impa yell out to them. "Yes?"

"I know what you are thinking right now, for your own safety and everyone else's, do not do it." Zelda stared at the sheikah, both of them not saying a word yet still communicating with their eyes. Impa sighed, "Very well do what you think you must. I still don't think it is the best idea."

"Thank you for your consideration Impa," Zelda nodded and walked away quickly, the rest of the group following after her. Impa stared at them as they turned the corner and left her view.

* * *

"Why are we stopping here?" 

Link was scratching his head staring at the very familiar room in front of them. _Why were they standing in front of the armory? I thought we needed to send out the guards to sweep Castle Town as quickly as possible?_ Zelda opened the door and they all stepped in. "Everyone, grab your weapons that you feel you will need." Zelda said as she walked towards a long highly polished oak box that sat on a table. She opened it and pulled out two rapiers, their scabbards and a small leather belt and starting tying the belt around her waist.

'No, no, no Zelda we are not going to try and capture our shadows, it is insanity" Link We don't even know where they are and by now they are probably in hiding since Dark Cimar hasn't returned yet. Just send out the guards, they will find them." Zelda slammed the top of the box down and spun around. "You will do what I say you will do!" she yelled, startling the three of them. Link walked forward a few steps.

"Zel, calm yourself. I know that you want to see these people thrown in prison because of what they did to your father but we can't storm out there by ourselves to look for them. Do you want to risk the life of Malon against these people?"

Zelda hesitated, her anger seeming to die down just a tiny bit. Link pressed on, "Even if we were to find them, what then? We all know that they can use magic to make them look exactly like us so if we were to find them for all we know we could end up battling ourselves or worse, killing each other. It isn't the right thing to do." He could tell that she was faltering in her decision yet she still wanted to avenge her father.

"I'm sure that the army can handle the three of them Zelda" Malon said quietly. "Even so, it was a good idea to come here" she continued as she walked to a nearby table and picked up a dagger. Idly staring at it, she spun it in her hands before throwing it in the air and caught it as it came back down. "It wouldn't be a good idea for us to not be prepared if they decided to come to the castle."

Malon smiled as she saw all three of her friends mouths drop, especially Cimar's. She picked up another dagger and placed it and its sheath onto the belt. She turned to see that they were all still staring at her. "What, did I do something wrong?" she asked playfully.

"When did you learn to do that?" Cimar asked. _I didn't know she knew how to handle daggers. I knew she showed interest in using a sword but, daggers?_

"Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you guys didn't I?" They nodded slowly to her amusement. "I guess all of you thought that Talon or Ingo were the ones who prepared all of the Lon Lon beef and cucco." They nodded again as Malon laughed. "It wasn't them. Talon was always asleep and Ingo gets queasy at the site of blood so I would end up with the job. That is how I know how to handle knives" she said as she gave a third dagger a twirl and placed it in its sheath.

"Are there any other surprises that you would like to share with us Mal and that I should know?" Cimar asked. She thought about it for a moment before smiling. "You just have to find out everything else for yourself. Now grab your swords so we can head out of here and check back with Sastur. I don't like the idea of leaving him by himself to guard Dark Cimar."

"My equipment isn't here; it's all up in Zelda's and my room. We will have to head up there to get it." Link said awkwardly since right now he was the only one in the room unarmed. Zelda scoffed at the delay to her plans but realized that Link was the best fighter out of all of them and if they were to capture their dark halves.

Five minutes later, with Link carrying the master sword and shield on his back and several other pieces of weaponry, ranging from his hookshot to deku nuts, the group started heading towards General Dagoron's room to make sure Impa told him to send out the army in search of the shadow beings. Rounding the last corner they saw Impa leaving the generals chamber and turn towards them. She noticed that each of them were now carrying a weapon or multiple weapons as the case may be.

"I see that you have not convinced her to abandon her plans on revenge" Impa said talking to everyone except for Zelda. They shook their heads as the sheikah sighed. "The general is sending out his best men right now to search for the other three members of this group. By morning we should know if they are still in the town or if they have fled although I doubt that…" her face froze and a line of worry stretched across her face.

"Impa, what's wrong?" Zelda asked in a worried tone.

"Sastur."

After saying that one word she had sprinted off down the hall, with the four of them running after her. She had sensed something wrong, how she had done so nobody knew, but when a sheikah was worried, there is a good reason that you should be as well. As the rounded the last corner they stopped as they realized what she had been worried. Malon screamed in horror as she watched a figure fall to the floor, a sword jutting out of his side.

"Sastur!"

* * *

Dark Cimar looked up as he heard the cry and started to grin as he threw the sword down next to its former master. The group sprinted towards him, Link and Cimar already drawing their swords, anger and hate filling their eyes. Dark Cimar laughed as he sprinted towards an open window at the end of the hall. He jumped into it, taking one last look behind him. "I'm glad you left me someone to play with. Too bad I think I broke him." He cackled maniacally as he started to jump out of the window. 

Link watched him turn and withdrew his bow and notched an arrow. _He won't escape me that easily!_ He pulled back on the string and was about to fire when he saw something fly next to his face. He looked in the direction the object was heading and saw Dark Cimar clutching at his shoulder, a dagger protruding from in between his fingers. The impact sent him crashing out of the window and onto the ground two stories below. He turned and saw Malon run past him to the window, with Cimar closely following. Looking over the grounds the two of them couldn't see anything. All they heard was the maniacal laughter of Dark Cimar as he fled from the castle.

"Malon! Cimar!" The two turned to see Link, Zelda and Impa kneeling over the bleeding form of Sastur. They ran over and looked down at him, hoping that he was still alive.

Sastur's face was pale and chalky and his breathing was hoarse and filled with pain. He was clutching at his side, his hand covered in blood which was started to pool around his body. Every breath was labored and Link could tell that he wouldn't last much longer if they didn't help him.

"Zelda can you heal him?" Link asked. Zelda nodded hesitantly. "I can stop the bleeding but I do not know what his internal injuries are. I fear that if I close the wound it might kill him."

"Well, he is going to die if you don't so just do it!" Zelda looked tearful for a second and Link instantly regretted yelling at her.

_I shouldn't get angry with her; it's not her fault that Sastur is dying. _

_Yes it is, she left him alone…when she knew that he couldn't handle him. She wanted him to die._

Link's eyes widened yet he held his tongue. Why was he thinking such things when he knew they weren't true? He shook his head as if trying to rid those thoughts with that simple motion and turned back to face his friend.

Zelda placed her hands over the young mans wound as a small glow started to appear. Sastur's wound started to close and the bleeding stopped as Zelda slowly leaned back since using healing magic took up a lot of energy. Link looked back at his friend and noticed that he still didn't seem to look any better. His body was starting to shake and he was starting to sweat.

"Come on, Sastur, stay with us" Link pleaded

The young man tried to grin that turned into a coughing fit. "Thanks…for healing…me, Zelda…but that wasn't…the thing…I was…worrying….about." Sastur coughed again, this time a little bit of blood had come up as well.

"He has been poisoned" Impa stated as she started looking through her pockets. "It is destroying him from the inside out. I do not know what type of poison it is but I can try my best at healing him." Link looked up horrified. His friend was dying and there was nothing he could do about it.

"We have to go after him." Zelda said her voice surprisingly calm for how much she was shaking inside.

"I can't just leave him here to die!" Link shouted back. _He is my best student, one of my closest friends, I can't just leave him like this…_

"Link…I…agree with…Zelda on this…" Sastur said as his body was again racked by a coarse set of coughs. Link looked at him, pleading with him to ask him to stay.

"Go…I will be…fine. Do this…as a friend..."

Link looked down at the floor. "Alright, but you have to promise me that you will still be here when I get back." He looked down at his friend who offered a slight smile as an answer.

Link stood up and took out his ocarina that he carried with him. "If we teleport to the temple of time we might be able to catch him. Impa, please help Sastur." She nodded as Link looked around at his other friends as they gathered around him. Cimar hesitantly walked towards him, remembering the last time they had tried this. When Zelda, Malon and Cimar were all tightly holding onto Link he started to play the prelude of light. They disappeared in a flash of white light, leaving Impa alone with Sastur, who was now lying still on the ground.

The light faded and the four people quickly took in their surroundings. Malon turned to Cimar and saw that, while he looked slightly pale, he was not throwing up like the last time. Helping him along, they walked as quickly as they could to the door and walked out into Castle Town. Moving quickly, they made their way towards the marketplace where the path to the castle met with the town. No sooner had they entered the square they heard the sound of boots hitting the cobblestone street. They hid behind one of the stands and waited for the figure to appear.

* * *

Dark Cimar was muttering to himself, wincing with every step he took. _That stupid girl just had to hit me with that knife_ he thought as he gripped his shoulder in one hand and the knife in the other. After he had fallen out of the window he had sprinted like a madman out of the castle. Unfortunately, when he neared the road leading away from the castle, he forgot that a steep hill was between him and the road. He had fallen and twisted his ankle when he landed, slowing him down immensely. Luckily for him no one was near him to hear the curses he yelled when he landed. 

_I have to get back to the others and warn them that they know about our plans._ He cursed the shiekah named Impa. When they took over Hyrule he would personally kill the witch himself. He didn't know how she had done it, yet she had managed to get out every little piece of information out of him without as little as a struggle. A small grin appeared on his face when he contemplated all the ways he could get his revenge. _I'm sure that the master wouldn't mind if I had a little fun with her…maybe I could make her into a slave._ Chuckling at the thought, he passed through the main plaza of castle town and turned down a familiar alleyway.

It had supposed to be an easy kidnapping. The girl Malon had turned out to be a little more than he bargained for though. _I shouldn't have underestimated the girl I mean, I am married to her._ He looked around quickly when he heard a small noise near one of the doorways behind him. A small can rolling across the street.

"Who's there?" He eyed the deserted alleyway for any signs of life and sighed in relief when a small cat walked out into the street, a rat hanging from its mouth. Realizing that he was being a bit paranoid, he continued down the street. _There is no way somebody could have gotten here this quickly._

Link let out a sigh of relief when Dark Cimar turned around and continued up the alleyway. While following Dark Cimar, Malon had accidentally kicked a can into the street. They had rushed into the doorway of a nearby house, praying that Dark Cimar would not come to check out the noise. Luckily a cat was also using the doorframe as a place to sit and vacated the spot when it had become too crowded for its taste. As he disappeared around the corner, the four men and women exited from their doorway and silently walked forward, keeping in the shadows as much as possible. After another tense few minutes, their quarry arrived at a ramshackle building at the edge of town and entered it quickly; taking one last look around to make sure he wasn't followed. Link led the group towards the building. It was a cloudy night so their movements were hidden as the crossed the street and hid outside the building next to where Dark Cimar and his group were.

Link felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Cimar motioning him to follow him into the house that was next door to where Dark Cimar was. It was also abandoned but was in even worse shape than the other houses on the street. The floorboards had been ripped up long ago it seemed by people looking for wood for their own houses. No doors could be found and every window was shattered or completely gone. Light filtered in from holes in the wall where Zelda and Malon were already peaking through two of them. Cimar and Link crept up to where they were and looked into the room, listening in on what was being said.

* * *

"What took you so long?" 

Dark Malon rushed from her seat and grabbed Dark Cimar in a big hug. He groaned in pain and grabbed at his shoulder as she let go, seeing the wound for the first time. "Your shoulder…" she grabbed a rag from one of the counters and pressed it against the wound. He walked forward a few steps, wincing in pain with each stride.

"Looks like you fell off of the castle." Dark Link replied, finding humor in the present circumstances.

"Close enough," Dark Cimar muttered under his breath. _Of course I won't let him know that it was a window and that at the time I was knocked out of it with a knife._ Malon muttered about his recklessness and how he could have gotten killed.

"Now why did you go off to the castle in the first place Cimar?" Dark Zelda asked as she started to take off his boot, to the groans and pain of Dark Cimar.

"Don't be such a baby Cimar, I didn't cry that much when I died the first time and that was after I was stabbed through the chest, burnt by fire and hit with a very large hammer." Dark Cimar glared at his fellow shadow and reminded himself why he hated and liked him all at the same time. His sarcasm was annoying at times yet he was one of the most capable fighters he had even seen besides his master, the fierce deity.

Dark Cimar winced again as Zelda started wrapping his ankle in clothe, tight enough so that he wouldn't be able to move it as long as he had it on.

"You still haven't answered my question, why did you go to the castle?" Dark Zelda asked again, agitated at having to ask twice.

"I was trying to kidnap Malon so we could set up a trap for the rest of them. She got away and I was captured after a series of unfortunate mishaps." He inwardly groaned as he remembered the inkpot, the stairs and finally the hilt of Cimars sword crashing into his head. There was still a small bump on his head and winced when he touched it.

"That was stupid."

Dark Cimar stared at Dark Link with the most amount of contempt he could muster. The other man laughed and went back to looking out the window into the abandoned street outside.

"That is the worst of it though. The sheikah Impa interrogated me and somehow managed to get all of the information about our plan. After she left I listened at the door of the room I was in and heard that they were sending out guards to search Castle Town for us. After they left, I killed the guard at the door after a brief struggle then escaped through a window.

"…All while getting stabbed and twisting your ankle. Tonight just seems to be your night Cimar." Dark Link grinned as anger flashed across Dark Cimar's face. Dark Link ignored his friends rage and walked over to Zelda who had just finished wrapping up Cimar's ankle. He whispered into her ears and first shock, and then a grin flew across her face. She nodded and walked upstairs, disappearing onto the second floor.

As the remaining three people in the room settled down, the four people listening in on them moved away from the wall and towards the center of the room.

"What do we do now?" Malon whispered softly so that the others could barely even hear her.

"We go back to the castle, report where they are hiding and send the army in to deal with them." Link answered. "It wouldn't be wise to attack them right now even with the element of surprise. It will be better to have the guards deal with them."

The others nodded in agreement; even Zelda had to agree with them. She desperately wanted revenge but somehow she felt like now was not the time to claim it. Sastur was still back at the castle and she respected Impa enough that she didn't want to disobey her.

"Let's go then." They started to leave when they heard a loud snap and a fizzle from upstairs. They heard laughter from the opposite side of the wall where they had been listening and a voice, most likely Dark Link's booming through the wall.

"It seems like our rat problem is going to be fixed. I guess it will teach them to not listen in on other peoples conversations."

Links eyes widened in horror as he recognized the fizzling sound from upstairs. Forgetting about being silent he yelled out to the others. "RUN!"

They started for the door when the fuse of the bomb finally ran out and an explosion from upstairs blew the top floor apart and shook the house to its foundations. The blast knocked the four to the ground as dust flew in all directions from the blast. They started to get up when a groaning and the splintering of wood echoed through the house. The support beams, already half destroyed by insects and mold collapsed, collapsing the entire house on top of them. Boards and furniture, mortar and roofing collapsed on top of them, burying them under the debris.

The four shadows walked out of their hideout and gazed down at their handiwork. Dark Link walked up to the prone figure of Zelda who was sticking out of the ruble where the door should have been, a beam resting on top of her head while the rest of her body was covered by the debris.

"You know Cimar…" Dark Link said as he turned to his friend. "Tonight might have been a great day after all." As the dust settled, the only sound to be heard through the town was the laughter of shadows. The wind started to howl and the clouds started to cover the sky. In the distance, the rumbling of thunder could be heard coming from the desert.

"Victory will soon be ours, and our master will soon crush this land and all others who stand in his way." Dark Link looked again at the prone figure of Zelda lying on the ground.

* * *

**That was fun but sad to write at the same time. I'll try and get the next chapter posted as soon as I can so I won't have to leave you all with a cliffhanger. Only a few more chapters to go until this segment of the story is complete so please review since that speeds the writing process along. Really, it does the only review I've gotten so far has prompted me to write the last five chapters. Although by now some of you might be wishing I hadn't...**

**nah!**


	23. Chapter 21: Dungeon and Allies

**Well, I've been mentioned in another Zelda fanfic so I am glad to say that you should search for two people in this chapter that might sound familiar to those who read HD stories. hint hint.**

* * *

**Chapter 21**

**Dungeon and Allies**

Link opened his eyes slowly, his eyelids wanting to stay closed. _So tired…_ Again he tried to open his eyes, yet when he did it still seemed like they were closed. _Am I blind?_ Link blinked a few times and tried to look around and winced from a pain in the back of his head. _Where am I?_

Link tried to push himself up to stand but quickly realized that something was keeping his arms and legs behind him. Twisting his hands he felt something coarse tearing into his skin. He realized that he was bound with rope, his hands and feet tied together behind his back. _This is odd. The last thing I can remember is the…_ The image of the house collapsing on Zelda, Cimar, Malon and himself flashed before his eyes the last thing he could remember before something hit him was the sound of laughter and screaming all at the same time. The questions started rolling through his mind like an out of control Goron. _Where are there? Where am I? Are they all ok? What happened to me?_

The sound of footsteps floating through the air suddenly reached his ears. The footsteps became louder and louder until they seemed to be just a few feet away from him. He heard talking and tried to move closer to the sounds, straining to hear what was being said.

"Haw he awakened yet?"

"Not that I know of sire."

"Well, let me in I want to see the prisoner for myself. Would you please leave us?"

_Where have I heard that voice before…_Link thought? It sounded so familiar yet it sounded as if it was muffled. The sounds of a key clicking in a lock followed by a door opening quickly changed what he was thinking about. A bright light flooded his eyes yet something in front of his eyes stopped much of it from blinding him directly._ I must be blindfolded. _Link turned away from the light as if it was burning him and tried to see around his blindfold but could make barely anything out. He didn't have to worry about not seeing for long though.

"Ah good, I'm glad to see that you are awake, I've been meaning to talk to you for these past two days."

_Two days? Was that how long I was out of it?_

Feeling fingers around his head he began to thrash out at whoever was in front of him. He recognized that voice now and as the fingers closed around his blindfold, he saw himself staring down at him. The man in front of him looked exactly like him, right down to the same hair and eyes and clothes.

"Welcome back Link, it has truly been to long…"

"Where am I! Where are my friends!" Link cried out, trying to be loud but finding his voice low and hoarse from lack of water. He felt slightly dizzy from the pain in his head and rested his head on the ground trying to blink out the stars from his eyes.

"Don't yell so loud, you might wake somebody." Dark Link grinned wickedly. "Besides, I wouldn't be worrying about your friends at this point, especially since you will be able to meet them tomorrow evening anyways."

Link turned his head to look at Dark Link who was smirking at him. "What do you mean by that?"

Dark Link acted all surprised before letting out a mocking laugh. "I guess I forgot to tell you then, or you must have been out of it when I tried previously. That is when your execution is slated; the charge I believe is for murdering the king." Dark Link chuckled and clapped his hands together. "It will be so great to watch the four of you each fall to the executioner, one by one."

Links eyes widened in horror as his counterpart laughed. "Although," he said scratching at his chin, "I could just take that pleasure upon myself and kill you now." Link tried to tear at the knot that held his arms and legs in place. "I could just say you were trying to escape. Dark Link grabbed a dagger out of his tunic and leaned down over Link, holding the knife to his throat. His eyes narrowed and his smirk grew across his face. "I think I have an even better idea that that. Link how would you like to see your precious Zelda?"

Link stared daggers at his evil half, "You will not touch her!" Dark Link cackled wickedly. "Now why would I touch that loathsome beast" he watched Links body shudder in suppressed rage. "I was just planning on torturing you in front of her before killing you…and then dealing with her as I like." Dark Link licked his lips as Link tried to get at him. The more anger he caused in Link, the more he loved every second of his pain. He withdrew his dagger from Link's neck and started to walk away. He turned just as he was about to exit the door and smiled back at Link.

"If you try to get any ideas of escaping, don't bother. The guards have been told that if they hear so much as a peep out of you, they have my permission to kill your friends. Have a great time contemplating your final day alive Link, since once your dead…there is no coming back." Dark Link laughed maniacally as he shut the door, hearing Link's screams follow him all the way down the hall. He walked past the guard at the end of the hall and handed back the key to him.

"Make sure that nobody tries to get him. I am the only one allowed in here besides you. Kill anyone that tries to enter." The guard nodded his acceptance and went back to his station near the door as Dark Link left the hall.

_I know you won't try anything with your friend's lives on the line, I know you too well for that. Too bad you don't realize that I will kill them tomorrow anyways._ Dark Link continued towards a stairwell that led out of the dungeons.

* * *

Link did not move from his spot on the floor after Dark Link had left. All he could think of was the threats that Dark Link had given him. _Could I trust his word on those threats or should I try anyways. I have never given up before now so why should this stop me?_

_Maybe because you're tied up you moron _Link thought to himself. He scoffed at the idea of him trying to escape from what looked like to be a jail cell with his limbs tied together. The idea actually seemed kind of funny at the moment as he envisioned it although the hilarity of the image faded when the consequences of his actions flashed through his mind. The image of Zelda being tortured by Dark Link would be to horrifying for him to endure, let alone to know he was the cause of it. He had to get out of here and rescue Zelda, Malon and Cimar, wherever they were before Dark Link knew he had escaped. What his plan was to accomplish that feat, he didn't even know where to start forming one.

Link again tried to move his hands but again, the ropes started to grate against his wrists and boots, even through his leather gauntlets and boots. He sighed, realizing it would be useless to try and force his way out of the ropes that bound him. Quickly looking around, Link tried to find anything that could help him out in out of the position he was in. His eyes started to become accustomed to the dim light that filled the cell from a lone candle on the opposite wall as the door. After looking and crawling around his cell for at least thirty minutes he had still found nothing of any significance except for a small plate that sat in a corner near the door.

He sighed and rolled over once again, ending up staring back at the plate near the door. It was the only other thing in the room besides himself. He stared at it for a minute as he contemplated the hopelessness of the situation. There seemed like there was no way he could escape under the current circumstance. To walls, ceiling and floor were all stone and the door was made out of what appeared to be oak. It had a small barred window near its top that allowed the guards to look into his cell. His gaze fell back onto the plate near the door since it was the only other thing in the room.

Slowly an idea started to form in his mind on what he should do. He rolled over to where the plate was until he was right next to it. Knowing what followed would be painful if he did it wrong, he calmed himself before lifting up his hands and feet over the plate, and crashed them into the dish. Pain shot up through his hands as the plate shattered and a piece lodged itself in his hand however his idea had worked. Link tried to hear if the guard outside had heard him but after a minute of waiting no one came. The plate was now in several large pieces, each piece having at least two sides with razor sharp edges on them. He groped around with his hands as much as he could until he finally grabbed one of the pieces and started cutting at the rope holding his hands and feet together.

Several minutes passed by and his hands were starting to tire. With each movement of the crude knife in his hands, the rope cut deeper and deeper into his wrists. It was becoming incredibly painful and he began to doubt if his plan would actually work. _Cut already, please cut the stupid rope._ As if he had spoken the magic words, he heard a soft snap and felt some of the tension on his arms and legs ease. He tried to wiggle his hands free but the rope still held tight, although it was no longer grating into his flesh. After several more long minutes, another small snap could be heard as another line of rope was cut away and the tension on his arm began to decrease. When a third snap was heard, Link sighed in relief when the rope around his hands and feet fell away. He brought his hands and legs around to in front of him as his limbs screamed in protest from the movement.

His legs and arms felt incredibly sore yet he didn't mind the pain. He was free of the ropes that bound him and one step closer to getting out of his prison. As the fire in his limbs died down, and the pain started to ebb away, he got up slowly and then tried to walk around the room to get the circulation and blood back into his legs. At first it was painful and his legs screamed out in pain from moving but Link knew he had to try. Link finally sat back down after about twenty minutes of walking around the room and stretched his arms and legs. It was a welcomed feeling to have the pain in his arms and legs gone and to be able to move freely once again. The next problem on his list was on how to escape from his cell.

Link's smile quickly turned into a frown as his joy from being able to move withered away in front of this new and bigger problem. He scratched his head and tried to think of how he could escape without alerting the guards that he had done so. Link finally decided that the only way he could get out of this cell was to somehow get the guard to open the door.

"If I was a guard, what would cause me to open this door?" Link sat with his back against the far wall, staring at the door as if it would give him an answer. Deep in thought, he didn't notice the small drop of wax drop from the candle above him and onto his hand.

"Gagh!" Link yelped as he shook his hand in the air and scrapped at the wax that was burning his hand. He jumped up and knocked his head onto the bottom of the candlestick and knocked it and its holder onto the ground with a loud clatter.

"What was that noise?"

Link heard the sound of footsteps running towards his cell and the sound of metal jingling. He smiled realizing that he had just found the way to get the guard to come to him. Link dropped to the floor and crawled behind the door as he heard the guard approach and look into the cell.

"Hey! Where did you go? Don't make me come in there!" Link whispered a silent thank you as he heard a key slid into the door of his cell and open. The guard ran into the room and just as he moved into the center of the room, Link attacked. He dove from behind the door and rammed the guard with his shoulder, knocking him into the far wall. The guard tried to get up while grabbing at his sword on his belt. He faced Link and charged forward, swinging his sword in a horizontal strike that would have sliced Link in half. That is, if Link was still there. The attack struck nothing but empty air as Link rolled to the guard's right in the compacted chamber. As the guard went for another slice, Link grabbed his arm and twisted the blade out of the guard's hands and fell to the ground. Then in one movement, Link kicked the guard's legs from under him and as he fell, Link brought his elbow into the guards back. The guard gurgled something incomprehensible before crashing to the floor in a jumbled heap.

Link admired his handiwork and picked the mans sword from the ground and started to walk away from the unconscious figure on the ground. He stopped and turned around though as he thought of something else. He went back to the guard and tore off a piece of the mans sleeve and tied it around the mans mouth into a gag. Link walked from the room and took the keys out of the lock, leaving the guard behind him as he walked deeper into the dungeons, since that is where he thought the rest of his friends would be. His guess turned out not to be very far off.

Link followed the twists and turns of the dungeons of Hyrule Castle as he walked deeper and deeper into them. _This almost looks like the shadow temple _he mused, gazing at the slime covered walls and the shackles that hung from some of the walls.

Turning around another corner he stopped and turned back as he saw the faint outline of two people standing outside of a doorframe.

"Are you sure this is their cell?" asked an almost cheery voice.

"I'm positive so stop badgering me." Replied the other person sounding much more menacing than the first.

_Are those women's voices?_ Link looked around the corner again at the two people who were now fiddling with one of the cell doors. Through the small amount of light that was in the dungeon Link could only just barely make out the outlines of their bodies as they fiddled with the lock on the door. Looking around the corridor, Link noticed that a man was lying on the floor, the symbol of the triforce visible on his uniform. Whoever these two people were, they apparently were not friends of the guards.

Link stepped backwards into the shadows trying to contemplate what to do. Unfortunately for Link, a small set of chains was lying on the floor and Link tripped backwards over them. The sounds of the chains rattling made Link's blood run cold. In an instant he saw the two figures freeze and then disappear completely in a small puff of smoke. Link started to get up to run but felt as two pieces of steel feel across his neck.

"What do we have here sister?"

"It appears as if we have another guard trying to stop us from rescuing our friend Cimar" replied the other in an ominous tone.

"Cimar? He's here?"

Link felt as the two knives slid away from his throat and the two people backed away from him. By now he knew by the sound of their voices that they were women, but still couldn't figure out why two women would be down here.

"You know Cimar?" They both asked, a bit puzzled.

"Yes, he is one of my best friends. Who may I ask are you two?"

The two figures backed away again, this time the light of the candles in the corridor revealed more than just an outline of their bodies. Link froze when he saw that the two people who stood before him looked almost exactly like only one other person he had seen, Sheik.

The one who stood closest to him was dressed from head to toe in black while the other wore all white. The contrast between the two was startling to say the least yet what surprised Link the most was that these two women who stood before him could be sheikah.

"Don't be surprised Link, did you think you would be the only one to try and rescue your friends?" a very familiar voice said behind Link. He turned and saw as Impa walked forward, followed by two other women that he knew very well.

Link ran forward and gave Zelda a great big embrace, forgetting about everything else for a moment. He didn't know how, but somehow Impa had saved both Zelda and Malon before Link had.

"I hate to interrupt something this wonderful but we still have work to do," Impa said breaking up Link and Zelda's moment just with her words. "Link, I would like you to meet two of my friends, Himmels and Draculina." Link turned in the direction of the two sheikah who bowed to Link as he did in return.

"Now you two, finish up with that lock and free Cimar. We still have to free Cimar as well as escape from this castle before any of your shadows know that you have gone.

The two sheikah nodded and went back to the door. Within seconds they had it unlocked and they opened the door but before they could enter, Malon ran past them and into the cell. Link, Zelda and Impa walked forward and smiled slightly when they saw Malon helping Cimar to his feet, somehow managing the feet while both held each other in a passionate kiss.

"Isn't that sweet," the sheikah in white said, her eyes glistening somewhat.

"Yeah, it's the type of sweet that makes you gag up inside." The sheikah in black stated as she turned her back on the couple. "Maybe we should lock them up in there so they."

"Draculina, that is enough," Impa stated, cutting off whatever remark the sheikah was about to say. "Cimar, Malon come out here. We need to leave quickly. Cimar was helped out by Malon since his feet were still tied together since Malon had forgotten about that particular problem when she had entered his cell. When everyone was gathered together, Impa told them that they would need to meet her at the Desert Colossus that was west of the Gerudo Fortress. Link had asked about their equipment and weapons and to his surprise, the three sheikah smiled and handed Link, Cimar, Malon and Zelda all of their weapons that had been taken from them when they had been placed in the dungeons.

"How did you get all of these?" Link asked a bit bewildered. The shiekah in white startled to giggle to the annoyance of her black counterpart, "I don't think you would like to know all of the secrets of the sheikah. It might…surprise you what we can do." There was a slight twinkling in her eyes as she said this and Link let the matter rest. Impa handed Link his ocarina and reminded him to meet her, Himmels and Draculina back at the Desert Colossus. She would explain everything once they had all made it there safely.

Malon, Zelda and Cimar each grabbed a hold of Link as he started to play the Requiem of Spirit. The four disappeared from the dank dungeon and out of the sight of the three shiekah before their light disappeared completely and they were gone.

* * *

**Sorry about this chapter being a bit brief. I wanted to write more but since I only have a few days left before I can't write anymore and still four more chapters left to do, the next chapters might not be as detailed as all of the rest. I hope that people spotted my hidden character insert, I hope I got the characters right, please correct me if you think I did a bad job or got it wrong. Please review what you thought of it or I will sick my pet dodongo muffin on you!**


	24. Chapter 22: Priceless Gifts

**Sorry about the brevity of the past chapter. It was late and I had to wake up early today so I couldn't put my normal effort into it. I was going to make it at least a 6000 word chapter but it ended up at 3,900. Sorry about that…hehe…he…uh oh**

**No! Not them…Not the killer cuccos! AHHHHHHHhhhhhhh!**

* * *

**Chapter 22**

**Priceless Gifts**

The light faded from the assembled group as the four of them felt the blistering rays of the sun beat upon them for the first time. Luckily for them, no sandstorms were raging in their vicinity yet the sun beat upon them mercilessly. Sweat instantly starting to roll down their faces as they started to walk towards their goal, the immense stone structure known as the Desert Colossus. Since the sun was directly overhead, the building provided no shade and they moved on to the inside to escape from the heat.

Just stepping into the building caused the temperature to drop by a good dozen degrees yet as they looked outside they could still see the waves of heat pass along the golden desert sand.

"Now why would Impa want to meet us here?" Cimar asked as he sat down near a stairway that led deeper into the temple. Malon was sitting next to him with one of her arms wrapped around him, obviously not wanting to let go in fear that she could lose him again. She had grown more fearful during the course of the last few days. At the verge of happiness, on her honeymoon no less, she was thrust from her joy and the only thing that kept the last bits of her sanity with her was Cimar. She feared her sanity might snap if he was taken from her again.

Cimar was feeling the same way himself. Malon was at the center of his life and he would do anything he could to protect her and keep her close to him.

"I don't really have an answer for you," Link replied "Maybe she just wanted us out of the castle since everyone there thinks that we are the ones who killed the king?"

Zelda stopped inspecting the builder and looked over at Link. "What do you mean?"

Link sighed as he began telling them what Dark Link had told him in the dungeons, except for his threats on torturing them if he tried to escape. He described his escape and heard Zelda muttering something about the lack of good guards at the castle. Describing his voyage into the dungeons of the castle, he described how he met up with Himmels and Draculina, the two sheikah who he never knew existed. Finally finished, he sat down on the bottom half of a broken statue near the door of the temple and wiped his brow. The heat was starting to become an annoyance and he had never remembered it being this hot when he had visited this place during his adventures.

"Hey Link, is there anywhere that isn't as hot as it is here? It's starting to make me a bit nauseous." Cimar said as he wiped more sweat from his brow. He was indeed sweating a lot and Link started to wonder where all of this heat was coming from. Link nodded, "Follow me."

Link led them up the stairwell and up to a gigantic block of stone that barred any passage forward. Equipping his silver gauntlets, Link shoved with all of his might and slowly started pushing the block down the passage until he heard a small clink and watched the stone drop into the floor, revealing a door to the rest of the temple.

"I think it would be better if you stayed in the antechamber, although if you like the feeling of being sliced vegetables then go ahead."

The four turned back towards the sound of the voice and watched as a dark figure arouse out of the shadows. Link, Cimar and Zelda quickly drew their swords while Malon grabbed a dagger form her belt and prepared to throw it.

"What is with you people, you should really lighten up a bit, you know, be a bit more pleasant." They looked up and watched a light colored figure leap from the top of a statue and land in front of them. Link recognized the two figures immediately.

"Himmels, Draculina, what are you two doing here without Impa?" The two sheikah did not move and Himmels, the one in white seemed to fidget slightly.

"Well, something came up which seemed to get out of hand and…"

"Impa is dead. She tried to perform the spell of illusions to reveal the true identity of the shadows but was killed from behind." Himmels looked back at her sister with sadness in her one visible eye.

"She told us to find the four of you and tell you everything you would need to know for the coming days and how to prepare yourselves." Himmels continued as she hung her head a little.

Zelda's eyes started to glisten and tears started to roll down her face. _Impa…dead? How can that be? She was…Impa the one who had taken care of her all of these years. She was a sheikah how could she have just died?_ She felt an arm wrap around her shoulders as Link grabbed her in her arms to comfort her.

"I know that you loved her Zelda but she did manage to kill a few monsters along the way," Draculina said while still staying in the shadow of the statue by the stairs. "You should have seen her carving her way towards your shadows; it was a marvelous sacrifice on her behalf. You should be proud of her."

Zelda was indeed proud of her attendant, yet the emptiness that she left behind in Zelda's heart was too large of a hole to fill, especially since it was next to the hole left by her fathers passing. Zelda sobbed quietly into the shoulder of the last person that she held close to her heart.

"Who was the one who killed her?" Link asked, hoping that at least Zelda could find some solace in knowing all of the facts that surrounded her passing. Himmels fidgeted again this time even more uncomfortably.

"Actually…all four of your shadows ganged up on her at once. We tried to stop them but…"

"We had the snot beaten out of us." Draculina replied quickly. Link took a closer look at the two sheikah in front of him and held back his amazement. Each of them were covered in cuts and bruises. Their uniforms had slash marks everywhere and little lines of crimson blood filled the holes in their suits.

"We are deeply sorry we couldn't have saved her, we tried…" Himmels said, bowing low.

"Don't apologize," Zelda replied softly between sobs. "You did everything that you could in your circumstances. Just making it out alive and telling us of what happened is enough." Zelda started to quiet down a bit, her cries becoming softer and fewer in number.

"Crying for the dead does not bring them back; it just shows weakness of the mind over the body."

"Sister, how dare you say that. Why do you always have to be so depressing all the time?" Himmels asked. Draculina just shrugged her shoulders, "Habit" she mumbled as she finally left the confines of the shadows. As she limped forward, the real extent of her injuries became apparent. Her suit was covered in even more cuts and even it being black in color, smears of crimson covered most of it, especially from a wound in her left leg.

"What happened to you?" Malon asked as she walked forward, taking out a bandage that she had learned to always carry with her in case one of the animals at the ranch injured themselves.

"After they beat us they threw us out of a window thinking we were dead." Draculina mumbled as Malon started to wrap the bandage around her leg. The sheikah shuddered in pain as the ranch girl put pressure on the wound.

"How high was the window?" Cimar asked.

"Not high enough," Draculina said, a hint of a smile on her covered face.

"We came here to give you training and a message from Impa on what you need to do here at the Desert Colossus. She has a message for each of you, one that you and only you can hear from us." Himmels continued. "Each of you needs to step in front of us one at a time so we can give you the message."

Himmels and Draculina walked towards each other then when they were together, they beckoned the group to walk forward. "The order is as follows, Malon, Cimar, Zelda and Link. You will come in that order after we explain why you are here." Draculina and Himmels both said at the same time, their words echoing each other. They sat upon the ground, their legs folded in front of them and motioned for everyone to do the same. They both breathed deeply at the same time then began the story, each taking over every few minutes.

**(From here on until the end of this story, each paragraph means that the speaker switched. Draculina speaks the first paragraph while Himmels speaks the second, etc.)**

"Here at the Desert Colossus resides a magic that is more powerful than any sheikah or Gerudo magic. It resides in the form of a mirror, called the mirror of twilight and is in fact in this very temple. Long ago, the ancient sages found this mirror and found out how to use it very quickly. It is a method of transporting a person between two realms…"

"One is the realm of light, known to you as Hyrule the kingdom where we all live and dwell. It is a land where light provides us with comfort and warmth, light and knowledge, faith and power. In this world, there is both darkness and light, living together and powers this realm."

"The other realm is the land of shadows, otherwise called the Twilight Realm. In this realm, there is no light to battle the darkness, no warmth to battle the cold. No love to battle the hate. In this land dwell the people of shadow, the Twili, as the sheikah called them. They live a hideous existence, one where they know no love for anyone besides their fellow Twili, no remorse for what they do. A corrupt race full of hatred towards all that is light and good. However it was not always so…"

"For when the ancient sages found them, they were just as good as those who dwell in the land of light for they had not yet been corrupted. With a method on how to travel between the realms found, a partnership emerged between the two people. Both people grew in power and closer together as time passed until a fateful day several thousand years ago."

"A man whose name has been lost to history arrived in the land of the Twili, searching for a power he had only heard about in legend. An ancient magic that resided deep within the realm, where no Hylian or Twili had dared to go for hundreds of years. Many thought him lost when he did not return and when he did return, he _was_ lost. He had found the ancient power and it had corrupted his mind for it was an evil power above all others. With that power he started corrupting the lands of the Twili, turning that entire race into shadow of what they once were. He corrupted their minds and created an army to march against Hyrule, hoping to rule both lands. The ancient sages saw this and knew what they had to do."

"The ancient sages went to the place where the mirror was held and started to seal it, preventing that man who was now known as the fierce deity, from entering into Hyrule. Before the sealing was complete however, the man tried to jump through the mirror. His last attempt was unsuccessful and he was lost between the two realms forever. However, his power had a mind of its own. It formed itself into a mask and made somehow forced its way through the closed mirror. The Sages saw the danger it posed and performed a spell that would keep the power forever sealed inside of the mask. They hid the mask in the far away land of Termina and from then on, all information on the evil was lost."

"That is until you Link returned from the land of Termina and with it, news of the masks as well. Details are sketchy past this point but this is what we now for certain. Somebody found the mask after you threw it away carelessly. Their mind was weak and the power of the mask took control of that person. Using him like a puppet, the fierce deity found a way back into the realm of shadows. Killing the king of that realm, he re-established his reign and began plotting on how to destroy Hyrule in revenge of what the sages had did to him. His first attempt failed and his servant, Dark Link was killed at the hands of Zelda, however, his spirit was not destroyed. For each person that exists in the lands of shadow can live on as long as their counterpart in the land of Hyrule lives as well. The Fierce Deity reawakened Dark Link and started his current plan to take control of this world."

"This time, he sent the shadows realms Link, Zelda, Cimar and Malon in order to assassinate the king of Hyrule and force the friendship between the four of you apart. Once that would have been completed, the four of them would have been able to use the power of the triforce and Ameon to reopen the Mirror of Twilight and let their master back in, since for some reason he could not re-enter our realm."

"They almost succeeded as well, failing only at the last second when Impa called the two of us forth from our slumber. My sister Himmels and I are ancient protectors of the mirror and were placed in a suspended state in the Sacred Realm until we were needed to protect the mirror. The time had come and we were called forth."

"The four of you are to be the protectors of the mirror to prevent you're the Fierce Deity from using its power to unleash his destruction on this world. Once you have found out what you need to do, we will show you the mirror of twilight and you will begin your mission. You are the chosen Defenders of Light that have been foretold by our ancestors to protect the realm of light from the realm of twilight. You and only you four can do this. If you fail…"

"…the consequences would be the destruction of both realms and the endless slavery of both people."

The two sheikah began to stand and it appeared as if both of them smiled for a second, although Draculina went back to her usual callous and menacing glare.

"We will now tell you each of your destinies regarding the mirror. Come forward and we will tell you each of your destinies."

One by one, they walked forward. Malon was hesitant at first since she wasn't sure what would happen.

"Don't worry Malon we wouldn't try to hurt you."

"Not much at least."

The two sheikah looked at each other and then focused their minds together as one. They reached out and touched Malon on her forehead with their palms and whispered a few words in the ancient Sheikan language. The room seemed to rotate to Malon and started to turn green. Within a few seconds she was standing in the middle of a large pasture that spread for miles and miles in all directions. She heard the soft crunching of grass and turned around to see Impa approach her. For some reason Malon didn't fear the woman before her even though she knew that she was dead. She stood motionless and seemed to be waiting for Impa to speak.

"Welcome Malon. I trust that you have never been here before have you?" Malon shook her head. Impa chuckled, "Not many people have. We are standing in your mind."

"My mind?" Impa nodded. "It is the only place where I can tell you your mission so you could remember all of it. You are a strong woman and the goddesses have decided to choose you because of your strength to receive this rare gift. You have been chosen to become as myself, a sheikah, in order to protect the mirror of twilight at all costs. I will pass along my knowledge of my people's ancient secrets. The time will be coming soon that you will have to use this knowledge so treasure it carefully. Impa walked towards Malon and held her hand to her head. Receive it, now…"

Malon opened her eyes, not really remembering when they had closed. She was still standing in front of the two sheikah who opened their eyes as well and Malon could tell they were smiling. "That is a rare gift you have been given Malon. We will help you in learning how to control that power. The two sheikah walked passed Malon and onto Cimar and again performed their ritual.

Cimar found himself standing in the middle of an empty street surrounded by houses on either side. Walking down the street he came to an intersection and saw a woman standing in the middle of the street who he recognized as Impa.

"Greetings Cimar. I have come to your mind in order to give you the true purpose of your mission here in Hyrule. You already hold a special gift, the power of the Ameon lets you do things that others could not dream of yet there is one purpose behind its power. You will know what you must have it do when the time comes. To make sure of this, I give you this knowledge of the ancient magic of Hyrule. Within its power, you will know what you have to do and when to do it. Receive this knowledge from me, now…"

Cimar awoke to find the sheikah looking at him with a surprised expression. "We didn't realize that you were the keeper of the sacred relic. It is an honor to know you." They bowed before moving on to Zelda who stood ready for whatever they were about to do. Again the sheikah whispered their ancient language and Zelda felt herself nod off.

Zelda found herself standing in the middle of the throne room back in Hyrule Castle and felt a sudden urge to turn around. She turned and saw Impa standing near the main door of the room.

"Impa?" she cried as she ran towards her nurse and embraced her in her arms. "I never got to say goodbye." Impa held her in her arms for just a few moments before letting go of the princess.

"Zelda, I know you would wish for me to stay here with you but I have only a short time that I can give you this message." Zelda nodded solemnly and waited for whatever her beloved friend had to give to her.

"Zelda, do you remember what Link has told you of his adventures." The princess nodded slowly, remembering how he had traveled through time to stop Ganondorf and then returned after his work was completed. "You may remember what Link has told you, yet you have your own memories of what happened but they lie dormant in your mind, unable to break free of the restraints holding them back. I am here to remove those barriers and to grant you all of the memories that you had when you defeated Ganondorf with Link."

_Wait a second…I thought Link defeated Ganondorf, what do I have to do with this._ Zelda was about to ask Impa the questions flowing through her mind when Impa laid her hand on her shoulder. "You will understand everything once your mind has been opened. Now, close your eyes…"

Zelda awoke quickly from her trance and looked over at Link. The memories suddenly flowing through her mind. She remembered escaping with Impa and giving Link the ocarina of time. She remembered the torturous seven years she spent alone with Impa as Sheik. Zelda remembered how she had guided Link as Sheik through all of his adventures and finally, she remembered how she had been captured by Ganondorf when she finally revealed herself to Link and the final battle against Ganondorf.

She smiled warmly at Link as tears flowed to her eyes. Link couldn't understand why she was staring at him with so much joy while crying at the same time. "What's wrong Zel?" She smiled even more at him. "Nothing is wrong…in fact, I feel like everything has been made right. I've been given a second chance to redeem myself to you, to fix my mistakes that I made by sending you back."

Link realized what she was saying and was astonished beyond measure. "You…you remember that? But how, you weren't there…" Zelda laughed softly, never taking her eyes off of him. "That is true, but the memories of what you went through have been passed to me, and I am glad that they have been." Link and Zelda started towards each other when they heard a small cough from in front of them.

"I'd usually hate to interrupt occasions like this but we have to move on quickly."

"If you didn't want to interrupt them I could have. I think that destroying moments of compassion is great fun." Draculina scowled. "Now let's get on with the last message shall we?"

Link readied himself for whatever was going to happen as the sheikah for the last time spoke in their ancient language. He felt himself being carried away. He closed his eyes for a second and when they opened, he found himself standing in the middle of the bridge above a large chasm. On one side of the bridge stood Zelda, Malon, Cimar and all of his friends. They were standing in the middle of a large field and were beckoning him to come. Link turned to view the other side and saw that the land was desolate, the ground blackened by fire while stalfos and redead dotted the landscape. He saw no life whatsoever in that horrid landscape and started to turn from it but stopped without warning. He felt something tugging, pulling at him to turn around. Trying to reject the power that pulled at him only seemed to make it stronger. Feeling helpless in its grasp he tried to force himself away from it but found that he could not move forward at all.

"It's a terrible power isn't it Link." He felt a hand placed on his shoulder and turned to see Impa standing above him. She leaned down against the ropes of the bridge and looked at Link.

"You know what power that is pulling at you don't you."

"It's the mask…I felt it before but it wasn't that strong the last time around."

"It has gained power since you threw it away and thought yourself rid of it and it will continue to grow in power until it absorbs everything." Link grimaced from Impa's words yet, feeling the power coming from behind him, he knew that what she said was true.

"You might not know this, but you are the only person who can stop the fierce deity from ever gaining control of this world. Right now you are faced with a choice; you can either choose to stand with your friends or choose to stand with the Fierce Deity."

"That's an easy decision" Link scoffed and started to laugh. I would never betray my friends to power. At once Link felt the power gripping at him start to disappear yet a small amount of it stayed behind. Impa smiled.

"I know that you will never choose power over your friends and I thought that this would be the best way to test that."

"Was that the message you wanted to give me?" Impa laughed as Link finished the question. "No that was only part of the message I wanted to give to you. I have given a gift to each of the others that will aid them in their missions yet you already have everything you need, except for one thing." Link looked at Impa questionably wondering what one thing he needed.

"Link, the only thing you need to do is to trust in your friends when all of you face your trials in the coming days. It will be the only way you can defeat this threat to Hyrule. Trust in your friends strengths and you will emerge victorious from this threat to Hyrule. Now go, there are people waiting for you…"

Link opened his eyes and stared down at the two sheikah in front of him. They somehow looked a little forlorn as if they were saddened by whatever they were doing. It puzzled Link to see especially someone like Hemmels who was so bubbly to look so mournful. They gazed up at Link and realized that he was staring at them.

"We know what she said to you. We have seen what will happen if you do not follow her counsel and we pray that you follow your heart in your decisions." Draculina shuddered which really surprised Link since she always seemed detached from any emotion.

"Come follow us… now that each of you have received your gifts, you must follow us to find the mirror of twilight." The two sheikah walked to the edge of the stairwell in the center of the room and started muttering something under their breaths. The group watched as the floor began to crumble and fall away creating a cloud of dust in its wake. When the dust settled, a set of stairs leading down into the ground appeared. The two sheikah motioned for them to follow as they entered the stairwell and disappeared below ground. After walking for a minute straight down the stairs their sheikah guides pushed open a door at the end of the stairs and walked into a well lit room with a high vaulted ceiling. The room was easily two hundred feet long and seventy feet wide. Several doors led off from the main entrance yet the group kept walking straight across the room towards a small door at the opposite end of the room. The two sheikah paused before entering and looked at the group.

"What you will see has not been seen for thousands of years. Do not touch anything in this room or else you might activate the mirror." With the warning said, the doors were opened and the group gazed in wonder. In front of them stood a large mirror, marked around the edges in ancient script and held up by a stand made of pure gold. They knew at once that they were looking at the mirror of twilight, something that they thoughts was only a myth. Only one word escaped the mouths of the assembled crowd.

"Wow…"

* * *

**I hope that chapter explained everything that you needed or wanted to know. Also, thanks to HemmelsDraculina for getting rid of the cuccos chasing after me. I didn't know that Din's fire could work as an instant barbecue. Remember to thank her as you grab a leg of cucco and review as you go. Expect the next chapter soon, only two more to go!**


	25. Chapter 23: Final Preparations

**I hope you all liked the barb-q-ed cucco from the last chapter. If you haven't had any yet, ask HimmelsDraculina is she took any home with her, she might have some leftovers. Anyways, on with the story. **

* * *

**Chapter 23**

**Final Preparations**

It had been a long hard week for Zelda, Cimar, Link and Malon yet somehow they had persevered. After the two sheikah had shown them the mirror of twilight, they had led them to their rooms and wished them a good nights rest. The next morning the four of them were woken up roughly or sweetly depending on which sheikah woke them up and were told to prepare for training. What followed was a nightmare.

The two sheikah had prepared different courses for the women as for the men. Since Malon had been accepted to become a sheikah and Zelda's memories of Sheik relit in her mind, Himmels and Draculina wanted to make sure that they were capable of earning the title of sheikah whether they wanted their training or not.

Malon and Zelda were given the garb of the sheikah and were told to change. When they returned, Malon was dressed head to toe in the red garb of the sheikah while Zelda now looked and felt like Sheik in her blue sheikah garb. The two women's first task shocked both of them.

"We have to defeat both of you?" Zelda and Malon screamed together. Himmels and Draculina nodded while secretly grinning to each other.

"In order to become a sheikah, you need to have the skills of one. The only true way to find out if you have those skills is to test you in a combat situation. We will let you attack first if that helps you at all."

Malon and Zelda lasted approximately forty five seconds after that. Himmels and Draculina looked down on the two women who were both lying on their backs next to each other gasping for air.

"Can you at least go easy on us, I mean I have never done anything like this before and Zelda has just barely regained her memories of being Sheik." The answer to Malon's question was quick and easy, no.

"Did Impa give you all of the knowledge and power you need to become a true sheikah?" Malon nodded as she got to her feet. "Zelda, do you have your memories of what being a sheikah for seven years was like?" Zelda nodded her head.

"Good, then both of you have all of the skills that you need to become true sheikah. Now try attacking us again and this time, concentrate on those memories and they will become alive in you. Now," Hemmels and Draculina got back into their fighting stances as did Zelda and Malon, "start again!"

The second time Zelda and Malon did somewhat better than their first attempt. Even with Hemmels and Draculina attacking them first they managed to stave off their attacks for a full minute before collapsing to the matted floor, the white and black garbed sheikah standing above them shaking their heads. Malon and Zelda were helped off the floor by the other two women and were told to try again. By the end of the day, Zelda and Malon knew almost every square inch of the matting on the floor since they had hit almost every part of it.

* * *

Cimar and Link didn't have it any easier than Zelda and Malon did and probably would have switched with them if they had asked. They had been led to a circular room with almost a dozen doors leading in all directions and were told if they wanted out, they would have to defeat all of the enemies in the rooms. Before they could protest, the door behind them slammed shut while metal bars slid down from the ceiling in front of it. 

They had decided to start from the left side and work around to the right and the first few rooms seemed relatively easy, only a few keese or bokoblins and sometimes a deku scrub were in the rooms and were dispatched relatively by Cimar and Link. Starting about the sixth room however, things became rather difficult. By the second to last room, both men were incredibly sore and they had to resolve to more underhanded tactics to win. That room had been filled with three lizafos and stalfos as well as two iron knuckles. They focused on the lizafos first and then the stalfos. The iron knuckles was a lot more difficult to defeat and after several close shaves from the monsters ax, they succeeded in landing the final blow against the creatures.

"Only one last room to go…" breathed Cimar as he gasped for breath.

"Is that all? I think I could handle at least a dozen more rooms like this" Link responded breathing just as heavily. The two men started to laugh and walked towards the final room. As the door closed behind them, they silently cried to themselves. Five iron knuckles awaited them and they sighed deeply, wishing that the monsters would just disappear.

* * *

As the day drew to a close, the four men and women stumbled towards the room labeled as the kitchen and found dinner already prepared for them. When they saw each other and the shape they were in, everybody chuckled. Malon and Zelda were still in their sheikah gear and were holding their backs. Several bumps and bruises were on their faces and Link and Cimar bet that a lot more were bruises were covered by the sheikah gear. Link and Cimar were covered in small cuts and their tunics had large tears across the fabric. 

"What happened to you to?" Link asked as the four sat down at the table, grateful to finally be able to sit down and rest as much as they were grateful for the food. The women looked up painfully at the men and tried to smile but couldn't. After a few rounds of double fights with the two sheikah, they had asked if they could try one on one instead. Malon was the lucky one and had to fight Himmel while Zelda had the bad luck of fighting Draculina. They had faired better in the one on one fights yet still grew very accustomed to smashing into the ground, time and time again.

"Himmels and Draculina challenged us to fight them, and then challenged again and again and…you get the picture" Malon responded as she stabbed at her food and jammed it into her mouth.

"Did you ever win?" Cimar asked. The two women stared daggers at Cimar and he took that as a solid no.

"Now that we have told you what we did, you need to tell us what you guys have been doing all day" Zelda stated as best she could with her sore jaw.

"We have been stuck battling monsters all day."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Zelda replied. "I'm sure that the two of you are used to that."

"Not really, especially when you are facing five iron knuckles at the same time, right after fighting for several hours straight."

"Only five?" Malon asked surprised that Cimar and Link were looking as haggard as they did when they at most faced five monsters. Zelda leaned over and whispered into Malon's ears on what an iron knuckle actually was. She dropped her fork to her plate and gasped when Zelda finished.

"Ohhh…that's what an iron knuckle is… I guess that would be a challenge." Link and Cimar rolled their eyes and started eating. The four people tried to focus their conversation on something beside the day's events but after a few minutes went quiet. They finished with dinner and walked to their rooms that were next to each other, Malon and Cimar sharing a room while Link and Zelda shared the room next to them. They muttered their good nights and collapsed into their beds falling asleep almost instantly, not even bothering to change their clothes.

Nothing changed on the second day of their training and it seemed that it had only become harder. Instead of lasting longer against Himmels and Draculina, Zelda and Malon actually began to get knocked to the mat quicker and quicker. At one point they actually were knocked unconscious and were rudely awakened by Draculina when she held smelling salts in front of their noses.

"There is no time for sleeping; there is only time to train unless you think you stand more of a chance lying down than standing up which might actually be true." They muttered to each other and slowly got up from the floor not really wanting to yet having to do so anyways.

Link and Cimar found that their challenge had increased in toughness as well. By the eighth room they were facing a pair of iron knuckles and by room ten were facing four darknuts. Luckily when they exited the tenth room there was a set of blue potions sitting on the ground in front of them and they chugged them greedily. This time when they entered the final room, they didn't notice where their enemies were and walked into the center of the room. By then they had heard the sound of armor clanking against each other and a screeching sound pierce the air. They dove next to one of the pillars that was in the room just as the blades of two aerofos stabbed the ground where they had been standing. Behind the two flying reptiles were two iron knuckles that held gigantic maces in their hands. Both men gulped, knowing that this fight was going to be insane.

"Why do we have to get stuck with these guys?" Cimar asked as he dodged one of the maces as it crashed into the pillar he was hiding behind, turning it into rubble.

"I guess we are just lucky I guess" Link responded as he leaped to the side of an advancing aerofos that had tried to dive at him. Twenty minutes later they finally walked out of the room, their swords dragging in the dirt as they left the room.

"I don't think that this could get any harder than that."

"Cimar, I can't think of a way it could."

Dinner was even quieter than it was the day before since everyone was even more tired than before. Himmels and Draculina joined with them at the table asked them how their training was progressing. A collective groan rose from the table to the amusement of the two sheikah.

"I guess that means you are being well trained for what you have to do. The more pain that you endure means the more you can endure in real battle" replied Himmels.

"Besides, causing pain gives me a warm bubbly feeling inside." Draculina added to the groans of Zelda and Malon. Draculina chuckled as her sister gave her a reproachful look.

"Tomorrow we will be changing your regimen slightly" Himmels said as she stood from the table. "Zelda and Malon will be again training with myself while Cimar and Link will be training with Draculina, any questions?" Everyone stayed quiet since it took energy to respond. "Good. See you all in the morning then." Draculina and Himmels left the room and its four occupants inside. Not even grumbling good night to each other, the four people fell on their beds and were asleep before even touching the mattress.

The third day of training was the easiest so far for the women while it showed new limits of pain to Cimar and Link. Himmels did not go easy on Malon and Zelda but with only one opponent to face this time, it was significantly easier than before. After four rounds had passed by, Zelda managed to trip Himmels up in one of her attacks and Malon scored a direct hit the blunt end of a sheikah knife, connecting directly with Himmels stomach. The sheikah reeled back in pain and with a final kick from Zelda in her back she toppled to the ground.

"Congratulations Zelda, Malon. You finally were able to beat one of us when you used teamwork. Remember that" Himmels said as she picked herself off of the floor. "Now, let's try this again, this time let your knowledge let you flow from one attack to the next. Let's start again."

After a few minutes, Himmels again flew to the ground from the combined attacks of both Malon and Zelda. The two women helped the sheikah to her feet and heard her laughing as she was standing again.

"Both of you did a great job today. I think we should call it a day and see you Cimar and Link are faring with my sister." The women walked off towards the room where Cimar and Link were training with Draculina. As they opened the door they stifled a laugh when they saw both Cimar and Link lying on the ground moaning, their swords a good ten feet away from both of them. Draculina stood over them and was shaking her head.

"How these guys ever defeated Dark Link will forever be a mystery to me. They haven't even gone on the offensive yet, simply pathetic." Draculina noticed her sister, Zelda and Malon standing at the door and walked towards them using Cimar and Link as stepping stones. They let out low moans as she hopped off of them and stopped in front of the women in the room.

"I thought I asked you to play nicely with them since they probably have qualms about attacking women" Himmels asked her sister. Draculina snorted, "That was easy, I didn't cut them at all but you will have to ask them if they are bleeding at all. I'm done with these guys for today so you can have them if you like." Draculina turned one last time to face the figures of Link and Cimar and muttered one last pathetic before turning and leaving the room. Zelda and Malon walked over to the two men and helped them to their feet while Himmels forced each of them to drink a red potion to recover their strength. The affects of the potions were almost immediate and Link and Cimar were back to full strength within minutes.

"Draculina told us that you didn't try to attack her at all when you were fighting, was it because she is a woman?" Zelda asked Link and Cimar as they picked up their swords and placed them in their scabbards. The two men looked hesitantly at each other for a second before mumbling an almost inaudible yes. Zelda and Malon laughed as Link and Cimar's faces turned red with embarrassment.

"We won't make that mistake again though, that woman isn't a woman. I think she is a demon or something with the way she fights, nasty and rough." Renewed laughter filled the room as even Himmels joined in. "Yes, most people explain her like that." She said as all of them walked out of the room and straight into the waiting figure of Draculina.

"So you don't like attacking a woman yet don't have qualms about demons?" the sheikah in black asked as she stared at Link and Cimar who were now laughing nervously. "I guess tomorrow when we repeat our exercises I should become the demon you think I am." Draculina disappeared in a puff of smoke as the two men scratched nervously at the back of their necks.

Since they had half of the day to rest they took full advantage of it. Himmels told them that they had to stay within the confines of the chambers and not head into the main part of the shadow temple or they might be discovered. They explored the rest of the rooms and eventually ended up back in the main hall after an hour or so. They retired to the dining room and kitchen for dinner and then to their bedrooms early to prepare for the next day. They awoke early the next day refreshed for what was ahead of them.

The trials of their fourth day seemed easier than before as Zelda and Malon managed to defeat Himmels every other bout now, even when they would fight one on one with weapons. They suffered a few cuts and scratches yet their training was finally taking hold on them. After five hours of constant battling, Himmels admitted to them that she had never once trained better sheikahs in her entire life. She called it a day and they retired to see how Cimar and Link were faring against Draculina. This time when they walked through the door, Link and Cimar still had their weapons in their hands while Draculina was just getting off of the floor, her daggers and chain littering the ground.

"I see that you guys finally got over your fetish of attacking women." Malon said as she walked in and gave Cimar a big hug as Zelda did the same to Link. Draculina looked thoroughly disgusted by the two couples and escaped from the area with the help of a deku nut.

"It looks like you guys might have actually been more ready for the challenges that lie ahead of you than we first thought. Tomorrow will be a day of rest for the four of you, however the day after that will be the day you will have to face your shadows. The longer you stay here, the greater their hold over Hyrule becomes. I will meet you after dinner tonight to tell you what you need to do to prepare for the coming battle."

They ate their dinner swiftly so they could hear what their instructions for the coming battle would be. They expected to be told that it would be challenging or something to that effect but didn't really know what else to expect. After clearing their plates they walked back to the main chamber where Draculina and Himmels waited for them. They stood in front of the two sheikah and waited for them to speak. They didn't have to wait for long.

"Let's get straight to the point shall we?" Draculina started as she looked at each of them separately. "Tomorrow just as the sun will be going down you will be teleporting to the temple of time. You will exit when night falls and sneak into the castle. We have learned that your shadows stay awake during the night and there are a lot less guards around the castle since most of them have been sent all over Hyrule to search for the Mirror of Twilight."

"We will create a diversion for you just outside the castle walls to draw the rest of the guards away from the castle so you can sneak in without being seen. When you find your dark halves you must fight, defeat and kill them. You can only kill your opposite so Link here can only kill Dark Link, otherwise the fierce deity can raise them again at their full strength."

"Do we have to kill them?" Malon asked quietly. Himmels nodded. "I'm sorry Malon, that is the only way to deal with them. Once they have been defeated there is one last thing you need to do. You must find something that resembles this…" Himmels reached into her pocket and brought out a small black orb of some sorts. "Once you find this, Link has to destroy it with the master sword. We suspect that is what is giving power to the Fierce Deity. With his power source destroyed, we think it should destroy any attempt for him to extend his power into this realm. Do you think you guys are up to this?" Link and Cimar quickly nodded while Zelda looked over at Malon who was biting her lip. Draculina noticed the sudden exchange of glances and walked towards them.

"Are you ready for this task Malon?" Malon tried to nod her head yet couldn't force her head to comply. "This would be the first time you will have fought and killed an actual person isn't it." This time Malon was able to nod her head. Draculina sighed quietly and wrapped her arm around the young woman, "Follow me" she said and guided Malon towards one of the rooms adjacent to the main hall and closed the door behind them. After fifteen minutes of waiting, the door creaked open and the two stepped out into the main hall, quickly rejoining the others.

Himmels looked down at the red haired woman who stood in front of her. "Malon, are you up for this challenge?"

Without a pause Malon nodded her head, "Yes I am up to this challenge." Himmels nodded her head, her eyes glistening slightly while Zelda swore she saw the sheikah smile behind her wrappings. "That is good to hear. Well then, you know what is expected of you. Tomorrow I want all of you to rest and prepare yourselves. I don't want any of you even remotely tired. The people who have substituted you I the palace know how to kill, that is what they have been trained to do but I think that all of you are ready for this challenge. Now all of you retire to your beds. I want you all to sleep well tonight." With that, Himmels and Draculina left to their own rooms while Link, Zelda, Cimar and Malon retired to theirs. Each person had only one thing on their minds and that was how they would defeat their dark half.

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**This is the third chapter posted in one day WOO HOO!!! I'm tired now… Only one more chapter to go until this story is finally complete and I can tell you that it will be great! I will include a lot of fighting so for those you who frighten easy like Saria you should stay away from the next chapter.**

**Saria: What do you mean I frighten easily?**

**Myself: Uh…hehe…it was a joke. I meant to say…**

**Saria: (cracks knuckles) I don't take kindly to **_**jokes**_

**Myself: Uhh…got to go, see ya! (runs away)**

**Saria: Come back here and take what's coming for ya!**


	26. Chapter 24: Fighting with Shadows

**Myself: Sorry I lied…there is one more chapter after this. I couldn't fit everything I wanted to in this final chapter so I had to split it. It will be better that way.**

**(pounding at the door)**

**Link: Open up! We are here to order you to get this story done with already!**

**Zelda: Don't make us come in there!**

**Draculina: Really, you don't want us to come in there…**

**Turalis: Uhh…I got to go… (exits through his bedrooms window) **

* * *

**Chapter 24**

**Fighting with Shadows**

They were woken up later than usual by the two sheikah so that they would be well rested for the coming battles that they would have to face. After breakfast the men went to the room that they used as an armory to check on their equipment one last time while Zelda and Malon changed out of their sheikan battle gear. They felt that the suits would be better to use in fights but they would need to wear normal clothes if they were caught and needed to pass as themselves. Even though they were told that they would not need them, Zelda and Malon packed them anyways. If they had to fight themselves, they wanted to use every advantage they could get.

Malon was nervously pacing around the kitchen after lunch. She said that she would stay and wash the dishes, which was a lie in order to be by herself. Frustrated at walking back and forth she finally sat down at the table and held her head in her hands.

"I can't do this…" she mumbled as she lowered her head to the table.

_How do they expect me, a simple ranchgirl to invade the castle, defeat the guards and kill someone who is exactly like, is…me?_ Malon sighed deeply while massaging the back of her head and didn't notice the lock to the door click open.

"Malon? I thought I would find you in here." She heard the quiet almost noiseless tip tapping of feet across the floor and the shuffling of the chair next to her.

"I don't really feel like company right now Himmels" Malon said quietly. It wasn't true but it wasn't a lie either. She didn't really know what she wanted right now.

"This is about, her, isn't it." Malon lifted her head off of the table and nodded softly. How the sheikah had known that was a different question. The white sheikah moved her chair around to face the red head and touched her gently on her shoulder.

"Malon, I want you to come with me, I have something to show you. Follow me." Himmels got up from the table and walked to the door, opening and motioning for Malon to follow her. The sheikah led her past a few familiar corridors and rooms before she took a sharp left down a passage that Malon hadn't seen before. It led to a spiral staircase leading down even further into the temple. There were very few candles in this part of the building and Malon had to watch her step so she wouldn't trip over something. After exiting the stairwell, Malon was led down another passageway until they finally stopped in front of a large, ornate door that was covered in all sorts of symbols.

"Where are we and what do these symbols mean?" Malon asked as she rubbed her fingers along the grooves along the edge of the door. "Why am I here, I mean, I'm glad that you showed me this weird door, but, what does this have to do with…her?"

Himmels chuckled softly, "You will find that out shortly once you are inside the chamber. Remember you are a sheikah now! Use well the knowledge you have been taught now go inside and find out what this room is all about." The white sheikah pushed open the door and Malon slowly walked inside. She heard the door close behind her as the room plunged into total darkness. Malon walked slowly forward with her hands in front of her as she tried to find her way towards the wall when she heard the sound of footsteps behind her.

"Hello Malon, I'm surprised you even showed up, especially since Cimar isn't here to help you."

Malon twirled around quickly into her fighting stance and reached for one of the knives she kept at her side.

"All ready to fight I see," the voice said again, this time it came from her left side. She turned again and tried to find the source of the voice.

"Come now Mal, am I that hard to find? You should know by now where you hide your shadow…" The voice had come from right behind her and Malon leapt forward and rolled around as she heard the whishing sound of a sword pass right through the spot she was just standing in. She turned again to face her enemy. She knew who it was now. Several candles along the wall flickered to life and Malon could finally see for the first time what Dark Malon looked like. She gulped apprehensively and resumed her fighting stance as Dark Malon circled around her.

"I see that the two sheikah have taught you well. I knew I should have double checked their bodies after I threw them out of that window. I knew that I had killed them too quickly" The shadow laughed quietly as Malon inwardly cringed. _My…shadow was the one who hurt them?_ She remembered seeing the wounds and scratches that had covered their bodies and had thought that it had been either Dark Cimar or Dark Link who had done that. Malon's attention was diverted for a second and Dark Malon quickly too advantage of it. She leapt forward and sliced horizontally from her left with her sword. Malon saw it out of the corner of her eye and narrowly dodged the blow although the swing had cut off a small bit of her hair. She did two backflips in a row before resuming her fighting stance, this time never taking her eyes off of her opponent.

Dark Malon picked up the small piece of red hair and smiled, "Such as pity really that one of us will die today. I thought that you might have made a good slave at first but then I thought that you would probably cry and whimper too much after my Cimar kills yours." Dark Malon charged forward and sliced vertically across in front of her when she was in range. Malon drew her dagger and deflected the blow. A series of horizontal and cross slices followed and Malon either dodged or blocked each of them with her dagger before rolling behind her opponent. She swept her dagger towards Dark Malons back but was blocked at the last second by her opponent's sword. She heard a movement from below and looked down just in time to watch Dark Malon's foot connect with her stomach, knocking her backwards and to the ground. Malon recovered quickly and dodged to her left as Dark Malons swords stabbed the earth where she had just been. Malon withdrew several small sheikah knives from her belt and threw them at her opponent who flipped out of the way at the last second while catching one of the knives in the air. Malon gaped in surprise as Dark Malon brought the knife to her face and smiled.

"Did you think that such a trick will defeat me? I have been training for years for this day and I can not be defeated by an upstart as yourself." She tossed the knife to the ground and reached into a pouch at her belt, revealing several small daggers. Dark Malon smiled and threw the knives at Malon who had finally recovered from her shock. She dropped to the ground as the knives whizzed about her head and rolled to her right as several more embedded themselves next to her head. She got up and started to run around the sides of the room, dodging this way and that to avoid the knives. When she was close to Dark Malon she twisted unexpectedly to the side and struck out with her sheikan knife. The move caught her dark half by surprise and she tried to dodge yet caught part of the blade in her side.

Dark Malon grabbed at her side and looked at her hand that was now covered in blood, and then to Malon who was back in her fighting stance, crouching low towards the ground with her knife held behind her gasping for breath.

"You have finally done it Malon" the shadow said as she sheathed her sword in its scabbard at her side. Dark Malon turned around and started walking away towards the opposite end of the room while slowly disappearing from view. When she finally disappeared completely, the rest of the candles in the room flickered to life revealing the door leading out of the room. Malon sighed in relief and exited the room and smiled at the awaiting sheikah.

"So, how was your experience in the Hall of Shadows?" Himmels asked with a certain amount of excitement in her cheery voice.

"It was…weird. I had to fight against Dark Malon and, I think I won" Malon responded. Inside the room she had been tired from the fight yet the moment she exited the room she didn't feel tired at all. The sheikahs eyes narrowed slightly.

"You didn't win Malon. Everything that takes place in that room takes place in your mind, it was all an illusion." Malon looked at the sheikah in surprise as she continued. "The one thing that the room was designed to test a sheikah at what was troubling their minds the most. The thing that was troubling you the most was if you could actually attack a fellow human being. I have noticed that it has been troubling you since yesterday and I decided to do something about it."

"You mean…all of that was a test to see if I could actually go through with this mission?" Malon asked.

"Yes. And since you are out here it means that you succeeded." The sheikah stopped glaring at Malon and returned back to her normal, friendly gaze which calmed Malon a lot. "Now, let's get back up to the others, it is almost time for us to leave this place. Himmels placed an arm around Malon's shoulder and led her back towards the stairs. When they reached the top, the sheikah looked in both directions before whispering into Malon's ear.

"Don't tell anyone else this but what you just went through was the exact same issue that Draculina had to go through."

Malon cast a surprise look back at the Himmels who was giggling softly. "She thought that she wouldn't be able to hurt anyone if she was needed to but after just five minutes in that room she stormed out of it in a rage and knocked out every single guy she passed all the way to her room." Malon started to giggle silently as well at this point. _I didn't know that Draculina had the same problem I have?_

"Did she really do that?" Malon asked as Himmels nodded back gleefully. "Yes she did. Apparently the illusion for her was one of the male sheikah trainees tried to hit on her so in response to the room she beat every single male sheikah she could find to scare them away from her." Both women were laughing loudly now as they rounded the final corner to enter into the main hall. They stopped suddenly when a black suited figure darted in front of them.

"Did you take her to the room?" Draculina asked her sister as Malon stifled her giggles.

"Yes I did."

"Did you tell her about anyone else's trip in there…lets say someone like…myself?" Himmels started to laugh uncomfortably under the gaze of her sister who was glaring daggers at her.

"Not really. We just talked about deku scrubs." _Deku scrubs? _Malon smacked herself mentally. _Next time I lie I have to make up something better than deku scrubs._ Draculina refocused her gaze on Malon who smiled back at her. She turned around and snorted in anger while muttering under her breath. Malon could make out what she was saying though. "Deku scrubs my eye! Himmels is going to find herself in front of a group of deku scrubs now…" Malon looked over at Himmels who was suppressing a giggle as her sister walked off towards the rest of the group.

"Everyone else is already prepared for this mission. Your extra weapons Malon are over there on the table. Put them in your pack and stand next to Cimar." Draculina ordered and which orders Malon quickly obeyed. When she was standing with Link, Zelda and Cimar, Draculina started giving out last minute instructions.

"After we arrive at the temple of time we will wait for twilight to come before we leave the building. Once we leave, we have to make it to the gates of the castle where Himmels and I will create a distraction for the guards. The four of you will then sneak into the castle and your shadows in teams. Link and Zelda, we suspect that Dark Link and Dark Zelda will be in the throne room. They were crowned King and Queen of Hyrule the day you were captured so they will most likely be there signing decrees. The instant you see them, I want you Zelda to say these two words, confortius revalis. This should destroy the illusion and will reveal them as who they really are. Do you understand?"

Zelda and Link nodded as Zelda mentally repeated the words in her head.

"Now you, Cimar and Malon, we suspect that Dark Cimar and Dark Malon will be in their room or in the training room. Cimar, it will be your job to destroy the illusion surrounding the pair." Draculina finished talking directly at them and instead talked to them collectively.

"If you have any luck, once they are revealed as who they really are you should be able to have the castle guards help you in defeating them. Once they are gone you have to find the black stones that they keep on their persons at all time and destroy it. With it gone, they can no longer be brought back to this realm. Any questions?"

Nobody raised their hands and Draculina nodded to Himmels to speak.

"Is everyone ready for what they have to do?" Everyone nodded. "Great, Link please play the prelude of light on your ocarina on the count of three." Link grabbed his ocarina from his pocket and held it to his lips.

"One"

Cimar, Malon and Zelda grabbed a hold of Link so they wouldn't be left behind.

"Two"

Both sheikah grabbed harps from their packs and held them ready to play.

"Three"

The notes from Link's ocarina and the two sheikah's harps filled the chamber as they played the prelude of light. As the last notes lingered in the air the six of them felt themselves being pulled through the air, the chamber below them disappearing from view. Malon whispered a silent prayer to the goddesses that everything would go smoothly from there.

The six people touched the ground of the temple of time and opened their eyes.

"They have arrived just like the queen has said. Come on men, kill the traitors to Hyrule!"

Malon quickly looked around the room and gasped as she saw dozens of troops from the hylian army rush into the room.

"Ok, time for plan B people. Attack the guards and try to make it to the castle as quickly as possible. Go!"

As dozens more guards pored into the temple of time, the six people readied themselves for the battle ahead.

"I guess we could call this a little flaw in the plan." Cimar yelled over at Himmels as he bashed in the helmet of another hylian guard and threw the man towards his comrades knocking all of them over.

Himmels's laughter could be heard over the din of battle. "Don't you like this though, this is fun!" The sheikah grabbed the arm of one of the nearby guards and used his own sword to battle his fellow guards before she twisted behind him and slammed her elbow into his back. She rolled quickly to her left and joined up with her sister and helped her with a group of eight guards who had surrounded her. The guards charged forward and the sisters waited until the last second to make their move. They leapt deftly into the air and threw a pair of deku nuts into the center of the group, blinding them all with the following flash. Within seconds of landing all eight of the guards were lying on the floor unconscious as Himmels and Draculina moved on to their next victims.

"How are you holding up Mal?" Zelda asked as she slammed the hilt of her sheikan daggers into the spine of one of the guards, knocking him out instantly. As soon as Zelda and Malon had seen the guards running into the temple of time they used a simple sheikah spell to change into their sheikah garb so they could battle better. The two were leaping in and out of the battle, knocking out guards quicker than they could take a swing at them.

"Zelda wait! That one is mine!" Zelda stopped one of her kicks aimed at the large guard in front of her and watched as the guard flew sideways through the air as Malon's foot made contact with the guards head. He crashed into a group of guards mid flight and then crashed into the wall. As he tried to stand a vase on a nearby platform tipped over and crashed onto his head, knocking him out cold. As they sprinted through the battle, Zelda looked over at Malon who was smiling wickedly.

"Why did you want him so badly? She asked.

Malon grinned even more. "That guy once tried to hit on me a few months back. I owed him one." The two red and blue figures continued their assault through the waves of guards that came crashing through the entrance of the building, finding new targets to meet their wraith.

"Hey Link; I thought you trained these guys yourself? These guards stink!" Cimar had just parried a thrust from one of the guards to his front and then used the man's sword to block an attack from behind before smacking the two guards heads together.

"I only trained a few of them, not all of them. I'm kind of glad that I only trained so few." Link reached into one of his belt pouches and produced a boomerang that he hadn't used in forever.

"Let's hope this still works." He chucked it into the crowd and watched as it knocked aside the guards that were trying to sneak up behind Cimar as he battled a group of soldiers near the pedestal of time.

"Thanks Link, I owe you one!"

"No problem" Link yelled back as he grabbed the arm of a nearby soldier, jumped behind the man twisiting his arm in the process and slapped his sword against the man's back with such force it sent him flying across the room. Without hesitating for a second, Link bent down to the floor and charged his magic into the master sword. When he felt the energy start to crackle within his blade, he released it into his trademark spin attack. Just the wind from the attack was enough to send all of the guards around him flying backwards and it cleared a large space in front of the symbol of the triforce on the ground where they transported in.

"Cimar turned as he felt the rush of air pass by him and turned to see the aftermath of Link's attack. An idea formed in his mind and he decided that it would probably be their best chance of getting out of here quickly and to the castle. Quickly scanning the room, he saw that Zelda and Malon had joined together with Draculina and Himmels and were rampaging through the guards near the entrance of the temple.

"Mal, Zel, Hims, Draky, Link over here!" He yelled. In almost an instant they were all in front of him.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?" Draculina roared at Cimar, frightening the guard that was about to attack her. The man dropped his spear and dropped to the ground pretending to be dead, even though his body was shaking in terror.

"Later Draculina just stay near me you guys." Cimar closed his eyes and when he opened them, they were glowing a bright blue.

"Uh, Cimar what are you doing?" Link asked as the group formed a circle around Cimar. The guards were starting to surround the group although they stayed twenty five feet away from them since they did not want to meet the same fate as the scores of their fellow soldiers whose unconscious forms littered the ground.

"Cimar, whatever you are doing could you hurry it up?" Malon asked, a little bit of fearfulness in her voice. The guards had lowered their spears and seemed to arrive at the decision to charge them all at once.

"Just a few more seconds…" Cimar whispered as sweat started appearing on his face. The glow in his eyes turned even a brighter shade of blue and made it seem like azure flames were coming from his eyes.

The guards started to advance slowly their spears leveled in front of them.

"If you don't do something soon I will put you into so much pain your mother will wish she had never been born" Draculina growled as her eyes darted back and forth at the approaching guards.

"Fine, everybody down on the ground, NOW!" Cimar yelled as his body began to glow the same bright blue as his eyes. The five people around him obeyed instantly while the guards started looking at each other and started to back away. As the glow intensified, several of the guards at the rear of the group dropped their weapons and started to flee towards the exit. They never made it.

Cimar screamed causing the rest of the guards to drop their spears and start scrambling over each other to the door but it was too late. Cimar raised his hands in front of him and released the energy that he had used from the Ameon. The results awed the five people on the ground below him and brought an wicked smile to Draculina's face. A gigantic shockwave that glowed a bright blue pulsed from the spot where Cimar stood. The wave of energy knocked all of the guards against the walls of the temple of time and flung them about like rag dolls. A second pulse knocked down all of the remaining guards that started to stand and again flung them towards the walls. Cimar dropped his hands to his side and gasped heavily as the five people slowly stood up and surveyed the damage. Guards lay scattered against all of the walls of the temple of time. All the lucky ones were knocked out cold by the twin blasts while the few who weren't moaned in pain on the floor or against the walls.

"Link…green potion please…" Cimar gasped as he kneeled down on one leg to rest. Link retrieved a bottle from one of his pockets and handed it over to Cimar. He gulped down the green liquid greedily, emptying it in one gulp. He coughed a small green mist as he finished and handed the now empty bottle over to Link who placed it back into his pouch.

"Cimar?" Cimar looked stood up and faced towards Draculina who he could tell was grinning from ear to ear. "Yes?"

"I forgive you for calling me Draky only because of that joy that you just brought to my life right now. I haven't seen chaos like that in a long time." She patted him on his shoulder and started walking towards the entrance of the temple of time. As they exited out of the building, Draculina put her hand in front of Cimar and stopped him as she whispered something to him.

"Although, if you call me Draky one more time you will find out the true meaning of pain and even Malon will be saddened by your loss." She walked away from Cimar who stood rooted to the spot for a few seconds before he followed after the rest of the group.

They sprinted through the shadows away from the temple of time as a crowd began to assemble around the building. Apparently Cimar's little display, the sound of a battle going on and the huge amount of soldiers brought in almost the entire populace of Castle Town. Himmels led them atop a hill to the right of the path leading to the castle as another group of soldiers ran down the path towards the temple.

"We made it out just in time it seems. Those men down there are the ones I trained." Cimar glanced down and recognized several of the men jogging past them and grinned. "Well then, I'm glad that we made it out just in time then." The group nodded in agreement and quickly ran towards the castle. They approached a ridge above the castle and looked down on the impressive structure and walls.

"The secret entrance to the castle is right below us. From now on, stay together in a group. They know that we are coming and are most likely expecting us. Be prepared for anything to happen." The group nodded in agreement and followed Draculina down the hill. Draculina led them to small grove of trees and directly to the walls of the castle. She patted down the wall until she stopped and pressed her hand against the stone. They heard a small click and watched as the wall swung inward and revealed a staircase.

"Now comes the hard part, I hope you are all prepared for what lies ahead." The group followed the black suited shiekah into the stairwell and walked straight toward the toughest battles that they will ever face in their lives.

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**Myself: I bet that you weren't expecting that huh? I promise that the next chapter will be filled with tons of fighting so ready yourselves for it.**

**Link: It better be or else you will not be leaving this desk for the rest of your life, now start typing!**

**Myself: (starts to mope) It's not like I can do anything else since you all are pointing your swords at me. Don't forget to review as well. Reviews mean faster updates. It has been scientifically proven to do so. See you all for the final chapter.**


	27. Chapter 25: Light & Darkness

**No author notes this time. Just read on. For those of you who have played Soul Calibur or Super Smash Bros you will recognize some of the moves I describe here. This chapter will be long, as in chapter 10 has nothing on this chapter, long. Enjoy.**

**Warning: This chapter is the reason why this story is rated T. **

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**Chapter 25**

**Light & Darkness**

They walked down the long and windy corridor in silence. Above them the could hear the pounding footsteps of the castle guards as they ran this way and that around the castle grounds. It was a taxing journey to say the least about the narrow passageway. Not only were there no candles or lamps along the way to light their path, but at some point it seemed like an earthquake must have struck the castle since there would sometimes be piles of bricks, stones and mortar lying on the ground. A few times, several of the members of the group tripped but since the tunnel was so narrow and they were so close to each other, nobody ever fell entirely.

"We are almost there, its just a few more minutes until we reach the castle" Himmels said as they passed by another pile of rubble. Since her sheikah garb was a pure white she led the way. Even in this the darkest of places her clothes were still visible if just barely.

"This place is awful, remind me to seal this passage up after we defeat our shadows" Zelda said as she wrinkled her nose when a slightly unpleasant smell entered without her permission.

"I don't think it too bad. It could be a lot worse than this." Link responded.

"How could something be worse than this, its dark, there is slime all over the walls and who knows what that awful smell is." Malon retorted back. This tunnel was started to get on her nerves. Being a ranchgirl so had been used to wide open fields and this tunnel was started to make her claustrophobic.

"Well, the walls could be made of skulls, there could be redead and stalfos everywhere, invisible scythes that can decapitate you and a gigantic monster that plays the drums while it tries to kill you" Link whispered. "Ohh and the smell is that of death."

The group stopped and turned around to look at Link. "What kind of place is that?" Malon asked.

"The shadow temple. If you want to see it I can take you there sometime." Link responded nonchalantly.

"No thanks, I think I would rather keep what is in my stomach, in my stomach" Malon stated back.

"Hey, I like that place. It is a great place to meditate"

Everyone including Himmels looked strangely at Draculina. "What…it is very quiet and nobody will disturb you there." Link rolled his eyes as Himmels started forward again. After another minute of walking Himmels stopped.

"Ok, right around that corner is where the tunnel exits out into Impa's room. This tunnel used to be how the sheikah could get in and out of the castle with the royal family if the castle was ever attacked. I don't think that anyone else will know about it or be in Impa's room but you never know so be prepared to fight when we step out." The group nodded silently as they crept forward towards the end of the tunnel. Himmels found a small piece of wood attached to the wall and flipped it backwards. A small ray of light appeared as Himmels looked through the tiny hole to survey the room. When she was satisfied that nobody was around, she pushed a small stone that was jutting out of the wall and the door swung open. The group then piled into the room and went over last minute planning.

"Does everyone know what they have to do?" Everyone nodded yes and Draculina nodded. "Good. Since they know we are coming and the guards have probably warned them by now they are probably in the throne room since that would be the safest place that the guards could possibly think they could stay. Once we get to the room, Himmels and I will reveal the traitors for who they are and then you have to kill them and destroy the orbs that allow them to transport themselves to Hyrule. If you don't destroy the orbs then no matter how many times you kill them, they will return. The Fierce Deity does not want them to fail when he is so close to returning to Hyrule so destroying the orbs is essential. Any questions?" The group shook their heads and started for the door where Himmels was already checking to see if the hall was clear. She motioned for them to follow her and they left Impa's room behind them as they headed towards the throne room.

Very few guards were actually in the castle which unnerved Zelda a bit. _Where are all of the guards? Even when I was a child the security around here was better than this. I have to fix this problem when this is all over._ They turned another corner in the castle and saw the doors to the throne room. For some reason or another they were slightly ajar and as the group walked closer they could see along one of the walls. Not a single guard or person was in sight which disturbed everyone even more than usual.

"I think they have something planned" Cimar whispered to Himmels who nodded in response. "They wouldn't leave the castle unguarded like this. Maybe they aren't even here?"

"No, they are here alright" Himmels "you can barely make them out sitting and standing at the throne. The sheikah had carved a small hole into the closed door of the throne room and was using it to see into the room without being seen herself. She moved out of the way for Cimar and motioned for him to take a look. Sure enough, the room was completely empty, that is except for the four people who appeared to be waiting for something at the throne. He backed away from the small opening and turned to the group.

"There is nobody else in there besides the four of them. No guards, no army officers, nothing. I just can't figure it out." He scratched the back of his neck and shook his head. "If I were them I would have wanted as many guards in between myself and intruders that were out to kill me so that they would be tired out when they finally arrived."

"Maybe they don't want that."

Everyone turned to Malon with surprise on their face. She giggled slightly out of nervousness. "Well, maybe they want to fight us without us being tired. Maybe they want the satisfaction of beating us without help from anyone else."

"That makes sense but it still is taking quite a risk. I think they are letting their egos get in the way of their decision making process. Malon's idea would also explain why no guards are here. They must have sent them away so that they could kill us themselves." Cimar whispered after he had taken another look

"Boy are they in for a surprise then" replied Link who unsheathed the master sword. "I say that we get this over with now. They want a fight; well I think we should give them one to die for." He smiled and walked towards the door and grabbed its handle. "Shall we?" He opened the door to the throne room the rest of the way and walked in with the rest of the group following next to him.

"Well, it seems like they have finally showed up. I was beginning to think that the guards were too much for you. And you even brought some of our old friends; I'm glad that they could stop by as well." The four people at the throne chuckled softly. Because of the dark magic around them, they looked exactly like Link, Cimar, Zelda and Malon. _No wonder why they were able to imitate us and take over._ Zelda noted to herself mentally.

"Himmels Draculina, I believe that you have something you need to do right now?" Link said turning to the two sheikah.

"Yes, we do." The two sheikah nodded and silently whispered in their ancient language. A small glow appeared over the shadows at the throne and they looked up in bemused surprise. The light traveled down their bodies to the floor and then back up to where it had started before disappearing. When it was done, the four shadows showed their true selves.

"Congratulations on your little magic show ladies. Do you want us to pay you now or later for your services." Dark Zelda laughed as the two sheikah scowled and let their knives fall into their hands.

"We did that for free. We wouldn't want to be paid for showing everyone how disgusting you really are. Consider it our treat." Dark Zelda scowled and started to stand to respond but a hand on her arm stopped her.

"Let's not get into a shouting match with these _children_ Zelda. There are other ways of solving issues like these." Dark Link looked up at Dark Zelda who nodded and sat back down in her seat and folded her arms, still glaring at the two sheikah.

"I believe that you have some business with us, otherwise you are just wasting our time and we should kill you now." Dark Malon said as she walked next to Dark Zelda and leaned on her throne.

"You have it all wrong little missy," Malon retorted "you are the ones that will be sent back to your pathetic deity. Too bad I won't be able to see what he does to you for failing." Dark Malon scowled. "This coming from a cross dressing farmgirl who can't even handle a pitchfork without help from her husband, I doubt it." Malon let one of her knives fall into her hands and narrowed her eyes. "I guess someone doesn't know a sheikah when she sees one" Malon growled.

Dark Malon laughed and turned to Dark Zelda, "I think we should leave now before the real us start throwing tantrums." They started towards one of the side doors that led away but turned back before opening the door. "Dark Cimar, Link. I think we should have a contest to see who can kill our better halves first although it probably wouldn't be fair to you guys." The two men who stood at the throne chuckled, "I don't know…they seem like they think they can take you. Be careful that they don't stain your dresses with their blood."

"We will be waiting for you in your special place. It will be fitting for you two to die in the spot you both love so much." With the final insult hurled, the door closed behind them.

"Zelda, Malon go after them but be careful. Cimar and I can handle the guys in here." The two women nodded and started for the door.

"We will come with you as well," Himmels whispered as Zelda and Malon passed by her. "We owe those two a beating for what they did to us if things start to get out of hand." The two sheikah took a step back and disappeared in a puff of smoke. As Zelda and Malon walked by Dark Cimar and Dark Link they caught them grinning at them out of the corner of their eye.

"Do you need any help?" Dark Link asked sarcastically as they passed.

"You should have asked your friends that you know" Malon responded as they walked out of the room and closed the door behind them.

The only people left in the room now were the four men. Cimar unsheathed his sword as he started walking forward with Link by his side.

"Want to bet who can take down their shadow first?" Cimar asked with a grin.

"You're on, how about two hundred rupees saying I beat you" Link responded.

"Sounds good to me, I need a new set of boots, these ones are getting old" Cimar snickered as he started collecting power into his palm with the back of his hand facing Dark Cimar and Dark Link. When he felt the energy was ready he reared his arm back and threw it forward. Dark Link and Cimar saw the energy just in time and jumped to the side as pieces of wood from the throne blasted in all directions.

"Cheater" Link scowled as the two rushed forward as their foes unsheathed their own swords.

"It's not cheating, just remember that next time." The two warriors grinned as their swords clashed against their enemy's swords in a shower of sparks.

* * *

"So you know where they went?" Malon asked Zelda as they walked through the corridors of the castle.

"I have a clue where I think they went." Zelda responded as she poked her head around another corner to see if it was clear.

"Great then, where are we going then."

"My courtyard." Zelda said as she opened a large set of doors and walked out into the late afternoon sun. Sure enough, under the canopy of one of the trees were waiting two figures who were wearing all black. Their crimson eyes widened in satisfaction as they saw Zelda and Malon approach them.

"About time you two show up. I thought for sure that you would have sent the two sheikah to fight your battles for you." Dark Malon said smirking a little.

"Why send those two when we are enough to handle this job," responded Zelda as she drew the two rapiers that she kept strapped to her belt. After the first day of practicing at the spirit temple with sheikah knives, Zelda had gone back to using her rapiers. Himmels had agreed almost instantly when she saw how deadly the princess was when she combined her skills as a sheikah and her skills with the sword. Malon withdrew two small daggers from her belt and got down into her fighting stance.

"Hey Zelda, want to make a bet?"

"Why not?"

"I bet I can beat Dark Malon before you can defeat Dark Zelda. Two hundred rupees sound alright?"

"Sounds good to me" responded Zelda. Malon grinned and withdrew three throwing knives from her belt and threw them at where Dark Malon was standing. The blades imbedded themselves in the tree as she rushed forward at her foe.

"Tacky" Zelda muttered as she ran towards Dark Zelda who was holding her sword in a defensive stance. Their swords connected and the battle had begun. Two figures sat on the edge of the wall above the courtyard and watched the battle below.

"I don't think they will need our help, Draculina."

"You never know Himmels, you never know."

* * *

"Looks like you have improved somewhat since last time Link." Link ducked underneath a broad slash and followed up with a swipe at Dark Link's leg. His opponent back flipped to avoid the attack then leaped forward and swung his sword over his head and sent it crashing down towards Link. The dark blade connected with Link's shield and scrapped off harmlessly to the side. The two Links circled each other looking for openings in the others defenses.

"I know everything you know Link, every move, every movement. There is nothing you can do to surprise me."

Link smiled, "I think I have a few moves that you don't know yet." Dark Link looked confused for a second then charged forward, bringing his sword back for a horizontal slash. Link blocked the blow with the master sword rammed his shield into Dark Link's chest. The shadow barely had time to recover as he dodged a forward slash and then parried a downward thrust from Link. Their swords collided together and the two stood just inches from each as they pushed their swords towards each other.

"You have gotten better Link, I have to say I am impressed" Dark Link said through gritted teeth. He started to smile and before Link knew what was happening; Dark Link grabbed Links shoulder with his shield hand and pushed him forward as he rammed his head into his. Link slid back a few steps dazed by the blow and saw several stars in front of his eyes.

"Although I am still the better man no matter how good you will get." Link suddenly was suddenly on the defensive as Dark Link pushed him back across the room. Link heard sounds from his right and hoped that Cimar was faring better than he was.

* * *

A small burn on Cimar's left shoulder reminded him just how much he had in common with his enemy. Apparently Dark Cimar shared all of the power that he did, including the powers that the Ameon lent him. A minute into the sword fight he realized that fact to late as Dark Cimar smashed a ball of energy into his shoulder. Luckily it wasn't his sword arm so he could still fight but the pain gnawed at the back of his mind. Cimar blocked another slash and kicked his opponent in his stomach, sending him flying into what remained of the throne. He put up his shield just in time as a ball of energy came flying towards him and the energy bounced off harmlessly and exploded against the wall of the room.

"Very good Cimar, I didn't know you had it in you." Dark Cimar pulled himself from the rubble of the throne and walked towards Cimar grinning widely. "How about we stop with this nonsense of the Ameon and just fight this out like men" he said holding his sword out in front of him as he neared Cimar.

"Sounds good to me. I like a good old fashioned brawl."

Dark Link smiled, "So do I." They crossed the distance between them in less than a second and swung their swords with full force with each attack that followed the first. A few of the sparks landed on the carpet on the floor and started to smolder but went unnoticed by the two combatants. They were too busy trying to defeat each other to notice the small sliver of smoke rising from the carpet.

* * *

Dark Malon ducked behind a tree as several knives impeded themselves on the opposite side of the tree. Malon had kept her on the run for the past few minutes by just using her throwing knives. She sprinted towards another section of the garden to get behind her opponent. Seeing a patch of darkness, she threw the last three of her knives and was saddened when the shadow jumped away.

Malon reached back into her pocket and realized that she _was_ out of throwing knives. She grumbled in anger and sprinted towards the spot where Dark Malon had just been and brought out her two sheikan daggers. She felt a disturbance from behind her and rolled to her left as Dark Malon's sword embedded itself in the tree where her head had just been. She turned and saw Dark Malon pull her sword out of the tree and stare at her.

"Looks like you are out of toys now…I guess who will have to fight with those puny daggers of yours." Dark Malon sneered and rushed forward slicing forward as Malon jumped backwards to avoid each of the swings. She looked behind her and saw the wall quickly approaching. Thinking quickly she turned and jumped against the wall and pushed herself up and over Dark Malon, landing behind her in the yard. Malon grinned in satisfaction and stabbed forward with her knives but her joy turned to sadness as her daggers crashed against the steel of Dark Malon's sword. The dark warrior turned her head and smiled, "You will have to try better than that ranchgirl." Malon swallowed, this was going to be tougher than she had thought it would be.

* * *

To Zelda it seemed like each of her attacks had been a blur. With the added movement enabled by her sheikah suit, she had been able to attack with her rapiers quicker than ever before. She had put Dark Zelda on the defensive instantly and had kept her there so far. She kneeled down on one leg then leapt forward with the other and brought her rapiers spinning around her. It reminded her of how the gerudo attacked yet she felt that even the gerudo would have trouble keeping up to her speed. Somehow Dark Zelda was able to dodge each and every attack even though she was being pushed back farther into the courtyard. As Zelda brought both of her swords down for a final attack she watched Dark Zelda flip backwards out of the way and land gracefully on her feet out of harm's way.

"Didn't think you could do that in a dress" Zelda said smirking at her opponent.

"It's easier than you think" Dark Zelda replied, her black hair falling around her shoulders, covering up a small cut that Zelda had given her with that last attack.

"Looks like I drew first blood" Zelda said as she rushed forward and brought both of her swords down against Dark Zelda's one. Instead of deflecting the blow, Dark Zelda instead absorbed it and fell to the ground, allowing Zelda to fall forward above her. The dark entity smiled and brought her knee crashing into Zelda's stomach as she tried to turn in mid air. Dark Zelda's knee connected and Zelda gasped as she was knocked aside. She rolled as she hit the ground and got back up into her fighting stance.

"You drew first blood, but I will draw the last."

* * *

Link had finally managed to stop Dark Link's assault with a well time deku nut and jumped back to give himself some space. Dark Link stumbled forward wiping at his crimson eyes with his sword hand. Link charged the master sword and performed a spin attack. Dark Link through his blurry vision saw what was coming and put his shield up to defend against it. All was fine until the last two blows. The second to last caught the edge of his shield instead of the front and knocked it sideways with his body along with it. Without his shield protecting him, the final spin caught him in his side creating a small like of blood to appear across his side. He grimaced in pain as he stared at Link who had a grin on his face.

"Do you think a little cut like that will end this? Think again! It's time to get nasty!" Dark Link reached behind him and produced something that struck fear into Link's heart.

"Do not do it, it could collapse the building."

"Good, maybe this time it will actually kill you!" Dark Link threw the bomb at Link who sprinted out of the way. The shockwave of the explosion caught Link and threw him into the air. He rolled when he landed and saw Dark Link grab another bomb. Link watched him throw the bomb and quickly ran out of its range as it exploded, sending dust and debris into the air. _He's going to take down the entire castle at this rate_ Link thought as he dived out of the way of another explosion. He looked up and saw that Dark Link had thrown the bomb a little too close and was now chocking on the dust from the attack. Link reached into his pack and grabbed his bow and waited as Dark Link grabbed another bomb from his pack. Link pulled back on the bowstring and waited until he saw the bomb appear from behind Dark Link's back. He released the arrow and watched it slice off half of the fuse as Dark Link tried to light it. Dark Link gasped in horror and tried to throw the bomb before it exploded.

The bomb made it ten feet away before it did. Dark Link was caught in the middle of the explosion and was sent flying backwards, knocking into a pile of rubble. Dark Link groaned as he got up and brushed at his tunic to get the dust and debris off of it. Link smiled. "Now you know how it feels to get a taste of your own medicine."

* * *

The two Cimar's fell to the ground as a second explosion rocked the throne room. They stood up only to again be shaken as a third explosion shook the ground. Cimar turned his attention away from his opponent towards the back of the room where Link and Dark Link were battling. Link had his bow out and fired an arrow towards Dark Link but instead of hitting him, it struck the bomb that Dark Link held in his hand. It exploded feet away from Dark Link and Cimar inwardly cheered as he watched him crash into a wall of rubble.

"You will pay attention when you are fighting me!" Cimar turned and saw Dark Cimar's blade swinging down on top of him. He brought his sword up to parry the blow but was less than a second late. The dark blade cut into side as the force of the blow pushed Cimar's sword towards him. Dark Cimar stepped back and admired the dark smear that stained a part of it.

"So you do bleed," Dark Cimar mused and he started to laugh. "I was beginning to think that I would never see the sight of your blood staining my sword."

Cimar stood up and ignored the pain in his side. "Don't get used to it, it won't happen again."

"We'll see about that."

* * *

Malon groaned as she picked herself off the ground and leapt to the side as Dark Malon's sword landed inches from her face. She picked herself up again as she felt a boot connect with her stomach and flipped her across the courtyard.

"Is the little sheikah getting tired already?" Malon grimaced as she felt another kick land in her side and sent her rolling across the grass. This time she got up quickly and brought out the chain that Himmels had given her. She hid it behind her back as Dark Malon walked up to her and stopped just a few feet away.

"I guess I should have played easier with you" Dark Malon pouted as she faked a frown. "They don't make sheikah like they used to."

"They do." Malon twisted the whip in her hands and flung it towards Dark Malon. The whip snaked around her legs and Malon pulled quickly, flipping Dark Malon onto her back. Malon released the chain from its hold and snapped it down where Dark Malon lay. It caught her across her left arm and left a large cut across it. She brought the whip down again but this time Dark Malon dodged the blow. Again and again the whip lashed out and every few times it found its mark.

Malon's heart swelled as she heard a scream of pain and saw the sword that Dark Malon carried fall out of her hand as the whip slashed across it. Dark Malon tried to reach for her sword but gasped as Malon's whip latched across its handle and flung it away from her grasp. She stared angrily at Malon who was laughing quietly.

"I think that as a sheikah I do a pretty good job don't you think?" she said as she watched Dark Malon fume in rage.

"Just because you can use a whip doesn't mean you aren't any more pathetic than you truly are" Dark Malon snarled.

"Guess you need a few more lessons then" Malon said as she twirled the whip around in a circle to her side. She stopped spinning it and threw it forward towards Dark Malon who put her arm out in front of her. The whip spun around her arm and Malon pulled at the whip but it didn't budge. Malon tried again and the whip did not move. Dark Malon grimaced as the whip cut into her arm but began to smile.

"It's time for you to learn about pain, Malon. True, horrifying pain." Dark Malon dashed forward at the gaping Malon and landed a punch directly into her jaw as she stood stunned. The blow knocked her sideways but she was stopped suddenly as Dark Malon grabbed her hair and pulled her back and sent her knee crashing into Malons spine. Malon screamed in pain as she fell to her knees on the ground. She felt something around roll around her neck and grabbed quickly as Dark Malon wrapped her chain around her neck.

"Poor little sheikah. You never stood a chance against me." Dark Malon pulled the chain tighter around Malons neck as she struggled against the metal cutting into her neck.

* * *

"Himmels!" Himmels turned from watching the two Zelda's swordfight and turned to face her sister.

"What is it Draculina?" she asked as she suddenly appeared at her sisters side.

"Malon needs help quickly!" Draculina pointed towards the courtyard at the figure of Malon struggling at the chain wrapped around her neck.

"Got it!" Himmels said as she leapt off of the wall and down into the courtyard below.

* * *

Malon's struggles against the chain started to grow less and less as it cut off the air from entering her lungs. She reached around for anything around her with one hand, anything she could use against Dark Malon. Her hand ran across one of her daggers that lay on the ground in front of her and she picked it up. With a speed that startled her for how tired she felt she plunged the knife behind her, hoping that it would at least make Dark Malon back off.

As she felt herself using the last bit of air in her lungs, she felt the chain loosen slightly around her neck. She finally lost the last bit of strength that she had and she dropped her grip on her dagger yet surprisingly, it stayed with her hand. She heard a gasp from behind her and slowly turned her head.

Dark Malon had her mouth open in shock, a few muttered gasps escaping her lips. Her hands were clutched around her stomach where a dark stain started to appear through her black clothes. Malon slowly staggered to her feet but fell onto one of her knees as she clutched at her throat. A line of blood told her where the chain had been wrapped around her and yet the only pain she felt was for the person in front of her.

She dropped to her knees as the pain worked its way through her body. _How did this happen…_ she thought over and over as she stared at the woman who kneeled in front of her? She choked harshly and fell forward, her hands stopping her from hitting the ground. She stared up at her opponent, a quiet respect in her eyes.

"Good job…Malon…" she coughed silently. "It looks like…you are a sheikah…after…all."

Dark Malon fell to the ground in a final gasp and slid to her side. Malon pitied the woman who just a few moments before was full of life yet because of the fierce deity, she no longer lived in this world.

"Sorry Dark Malon…I truly am sorry for all of this."

"Don't be, it wasn't your fault that she was sent her" said a voice from behind her. Malon didn't even bother to turn, she knew who it was.

"I know Himmels, I know." Malon reached down and turned Dark Malon onto her back and began searching for the tiny orb that she would have kept on her. She felt a lump in one of her dress pockets and pulled out a tiny glass ball that glowed a soft grey. She looked around the courtyard for one of her daggers and finally found it a few feet away from her. She laid the glass ball on the ground and silently looked at it. She sighed as she slammed her dagger downwards and into the center of the ball. It crackled as the dagger plunged into it, lights bursting from its center before it fell silent. The ball with its power now gone started to crumble into dust. A small breeze scattered its remains across the courtyard as Malon looked down at Dark Malon one last time. _I'm sorry it had to end this way, I wished there was another way._ Malon started to stand and turned away to find Zelda when she thought she heard a small voice in her head.

* * *

Zelda blocked another thrust from Dark Zelda with one of her rapiers and let the hilt of the other one slam into Dark Zelda's cheek. She lurched backwards and reached up to dab at her cheek and saw a little spot of blood on her glove. She breathed heavily and tried again to attack Zelda. Zelda brought both of her rapiers together into an x and held them in front of her as Dark Zelda's sword came crashing down between them. It caught in the center of the two blades and the two combatants began to push against each other, trying to make the other back down.

"Getting tired yet princess?" Dark Zelda spat as she grimaced and pushed her sword against Zelda's.

"Not in the least" she replied. In truth she was dead tired. They had been dueling for the better part of an hour now and both were covered in cuts and bruises. One of Zelda's legs had a large slice across it and just the pain from it was starting to wear at her. Dark Zelda was in no better shape. A large gash ran across her back from earlier as well as a large cut across her left arm.

The two struggled against each other for a few seconds before Dark Zelda backed away again. The two stared at each other, both too tired to make the next strike. A plan started to form in Zelda's mind. At first she dismissed it as to drastic yet as she stared at her opponent, she knew that it had a chance to work. Zelda looked at one of her swords and threw it to the side and resumed her stance.

Dark Zelda couldn't decide what the princess was doing. _Why would she throw away her weapon? She must finally realize that she has no chance to win._ She smiled and stared at Zelda who now had thrown her other rapier to the ground. Zelda raised her hands into the air and then fell to her feet, inches above the ground.

"You finally realize that you cannot defeat me. Fine by me. You will die with or without a sword in your hand." Dark Zelda ran forward and sliced down with her sword. She smiled as she saw that Zelda did not move nor did she reach for her swords. _This battle is mine!_ She swung her sword down prepared for the bloodbath to follow. It never did.

Her sword had stopped just inches above the princess's head and stayed there. No matter how much she pushed downward her sword did not move. Zelda looked up to her and smiled softly.

"No, you will be the one to die today." Zelda grabbed the rapier that she dropped to the ground next to her and brought it forward before Dark Zelda could move. Dark Zelda gasped as the sword pierced through her shoulder and disappeared out the back. Zelda pulled back and watched as her opponent crumbled to the ground in a disheveled heap.

"Nayru's love, something like that a dark soul like yourself will never be able to conceive of." Zelda stared down at her shadow and shook her head.

"Curse…you Zelda!" Dark Zelda gasped. "May the Fierce Deity…kill you all…"

"I'd like to see him try" Zelda replied as Dark Zelda drew a final breath and was silent, a look of rage on her face. Zelda saw a small glass orb roll out of one of Dark Zelda's pockets and knew what it was. She reached down and picked up the small glass object in her hand.

"Dins fire" she whispered quietly. A fire erupted from her hands and engulfed the glass orb as it crackled and fizzed in her hand. When the fire died away it revealed the ashes of the orb in her hands.

"Zelda" the princess turned and saw Malon walking towards her. She started to lift her sword but realized that it was her friend and not the Malon from the twilight realm.

"We should check on how Cimar and Link are doing, or at least tell them that we are ok."

Zelda nodded slowly and got up painfully, noticing the pain from her leg for the first time. She tried to walk forward but her leg collapsed and she fell to the ground. Malon rushed over and helped her to her feet and started to help her towards the door of the courtyard.

"No, I know of a quicker way, hold on" Zelda said. Malon did so and Zelda again whispered a few words.

"Farore's Wind"

Malon felt herself lifted into the air. She closed her eyes so that she wouldn't become dizzy and only opened them when she felt stonework beneath her feet. She opened her eyes and say that they had transported directly in front of the door that led to the throne room. Malon reached for the handle to the door and opened it for Zelda and they both walked in. What they saw astounded them.

Part of the room was in flames. One of the carpets had caught on fire and had spread to several of the paintings and curtains. The room was quickly becoming an inferno and that seemed to be the least of their worries. Link and Cimar were still battling with their shadows as the room burned around them.

"LINK, CIMAR! Get out of there now!" Both women screamed.

* * *

Link heard a scream echo from behind him and turned to see where it had come from. He gasped when he saw Zelda and Malon standing at the entrance of the throne room. _They won already?_

Link refocused as he narrowly avoided another slash from Dark Link who was now breathing heavily. The fires in the room were starting to absorb the oxygen in the room. He saw Cimar dodging the flames as well as his opponent as they fought furiously to his left.

"Cimar! Malon and Zelda are ok! We need to finish these two quickly and get out of here now!"

"What do you think I am trying to do?" Cimar yelled back between gritted teeth.

"I'm working on that myself!" Link yelled back.

* * *

Cimar dodged another thrust and followed up with a horizontal slash. Dark Cimar jumped backwards to avoid it as well as a large piece of burning timber that came crashing to the ground between them. Cimar took the brief opportunity to scan the room and saw Malon and Zelda standing near one of the exits with two other figures who looked like Himmels and Draculina. The four disappeared in a puff of smoke and Cimar hoped that they were now somewhere safe. He heard a roar from in front of him and saw Dark Cimar jump over the burning timber and land with a loud thud next to him. It appeared as if he had been hit by the board that had fallen since the left sleeve of his tunic was ripped to pieces and his entire left arm was covered in blood.

"Nobody…escapes from Dark Cimar. Nobody!" he said with an evil glint in his crimson eyes. Cimar backed away a few steps as he watched Dark Cimar start to shudder and put off a deep ruby glow. Cimar felt the castle start to shake and saw more timbers fall to the ground. Dark Cimar's attention seemed to be distracted as he built up his power and his crimson aura that surrounded his body began to glow.

"Link we have a problem over here!" Cimar yelled.

"Can it be any bigger than my own…oh no…" Link stopped mid slash and dropped his shield to the floor. Dark Link saw his opportunity and raised his corrupted version of the master sword to strike but stopped at the last second. He wanted to look into Link's eyes as he killed him but the man was staring away from him. Dark Link looked over to where Link was looking and cursed silently. Dark Cimar was glowing an even darker shade of crimson than before and had an even larger aura that filled the area around him. Cimar sprinted up to where the two Links stood gaping at the site before them.

"Link, we have to get out of here, he has gone mad. I don't think he knows what he is doing! Link come on!" Both Links started out of their stupors and faced Cimar.

"He hasn't gone mad Cimar…" Cimar turned to face Dark Link who stood facing the two men. "The Fierce Deity is giving him his power. He will keep giving it to Dark Cimar until it destroys him and anything for miles around. The master is using him to destroy Hyrule…"

Link and Cimar gaped at Dark Link. "Is there anyway to stop him?" they both asked.

"Only one that I know of…run…run as fast as you can. I will try to stop this madness." Link and Cimar looked dubiously at Dark Link but he was no longer paying any attention to them. They gave him the benefit of the doubt and they sprinted towards the exit, dodging burning timbers and rubble that now littered the burning castle. Dark Link heard a soothing melody and saw both men disappear into a cloud of lights as he decided what he had to do. He started slowly walking towards Dark Cimar who was now screaming in pain as the walls of the castle started to shake around him. Each step that Dark Link reminded him of better times before all of this mess happened.

_"Come on Link, hurry up or your miss the festival!" Cimar yelled out as the two eight year olds ran over the crest of the hill near their house. Before them lay the yearly harvest festival held each autumn in their city. _

_"Wait for me!" he cried as he sped down the hill after his brother._

Another step forward and Dark Link shuddered from the repressed memories that the Fierce Deity had suppressed.

_"He is going to get better mom?" Link stood next to the bed his brother was laying in, his broken arm wrapped up and in a splint._

_"He should be ok. You are lucky that Zelda and Malon found you in that pit; otherwise he might have been in worse shape. You should thank those two girls the next time you see them._

_"Don't worry mom, I will." Link stated cheerfully, grateful that they had saved him brother's life after he had fallen into the pit running to the festive._

Dark Link felt something in his eyes as he walked forward another step as he watched Dark Cimar shaking from the pain that the Fierce Deity was putting on him.

_"Hey Zelda, Malon…I wanted to say thanks to both of you what you did for my brother." The two girls turned around and smiled at Link who was panting from the run from his house to the village._

_"It was no problem; we saw him fall and knew that you would need some help. Is he alright?"_

_"Yeah, he fines…I think, at least Mom says he's fine." Link scratched his head and blushed realizing that both of the girls were looking at him oddly. They giggled and caused him to blush even further._

The memory faded as Dark Link drew his sword and took another step towards Cimar. Each memory flashed by as he took his step. He was almost to his brother when the most recent memories started to fill his mind.

_"Cimar! The town is under attack, we have to help!" Link yelled as he looked at the flames spreading across the town and heard the screams echoing in the cold night air. The two seventeen year olds ran to the town as quickly as they could and sprinted towards one particular house. _

_"Malon! Zelda! The town is under attack! Come with us." They heard the bolt to the front door unlock and Malon and Zelda ran out, both holding swords in their hands._

_"Who is attacking and where is he!" the girls yelled. Another scream pierced the air as a house a few blocks down exploded into a fireball. The four of them ran down the block and turned up the street and saw the man that was destroying their beloved city._

_He stood at least eight feet tall and had pure silver hair. He carried a large sword that had twin blades wrapping around each other and a large silver breastplate across his chest. His back was to the four young men and women as they charged down the street towards him._

_Link jumped into the air and swung his sword down, hitting the man across the back in an attack that should have sliced through him but didn't even dent the man's armor. Cimar tried slicing at the man's legs while the two girls sliced at his back. Before any of them could land a hit they were blown backwards by a wave of power that surrounded the man. The giant turned and smiled at the four young swordsmen that stood before him._

_"It appears that I have challengers." The man walked towards the group but stopped when he spied Link and Zelda. "That is odd, who knew that Link was here in this pathetic realm as well. You will fit quite well into my plans." The stranger swung his sword and with one swipe of his blade, hurled all of them into the buildings behind them and knocked them all out cold._

Another step forward and he could feel the heat surrounding Dark Cimar and could feel it starting to burn at his skin.

_"I have heard that you have someone in your possession that looks like the so called Hero of Time, is that correct?"_

_"That is correct Ganondorf. I found him a little over a year ago and twisted him to do my bidding. In fact here he is right now."_

_Link, now known as Dark Link walked forward out of the shadows, his eyes a foreboding crimson, his passion for life gone. Replaced with a love of only cruelty and his Zelda. "What is your bidding my master."_

_"A friend on mine needs you in Hyrule. Your job will be to kill the Hero of Time. I'll send you to wait for him in the water temple. It should be easy for someone with your skills._

_"Thank you my master."_

The heat started to burn at his tunic not only from Dark Cimar's aura of power but from the flames that surrounded him.

_"You failed me, Dark Link. Twice now you have failed me. Not only that, you tried to destroy Ganondorf as well. What are you thinking?"_

_Dark Link looked at the ground, "I was only trying to serve you."_

_"That is a lie if I have heard any in my life. Get away from my sight while I think of what to do with you next." Dark Link bowed and walked out of the room. A few minutes later he was in his bedroom with Dark Zelda, the girl that he had grown up with…the girl that he had married the year before the arrival of the master. _

_"Why did you kill Ganondorf when your mission was to kill Link?" she asked. He couldn't tell her and just shook his head. Finally after a minute of silence she walked out of the room, leaving him to his thoughts._

_If he could muster up the courage, someday he would tell her that he did it to get enough power to destroy the fierce deity. If he killed that man, Zelda would be free again. All of them would be free and maybe, he could right all of his wrongs that he had done to his friends._

Dark Link was now standing over his brother who was screaming in pain. Tears ran freely down Dark Links. "I'm sorry brother…I have to do this…I can't let Hyrule be destroyed because of what the master said to do." Dark Link lifted his sword above his head and whispered one last sentence.

"I'm sorry…brother."

* * *

Link and Cimar felt the ground against their feet and opened their eyes to the familiar setting of the temple of time.

"I was wondering when you two would show up."

Link and Cimar turned towards the voice behind them but before they could respond were knocked over by Malon and Zelda.

The two men lay on the floor with Zelda and Malon on top of them, holding them in their arms and well as with their lips. The two men were shocked at first but returned the women's embraces and kisses.

"Again, I hate to interrupt such a warm and fuzzy moment" the sound of Draculina retching behind Himmels caused her to turn for a second before continuing. "Again, I hate to interrupt this moment for you guys but what took you so long?"

Link's mind returned to the current situation and he gently pushed Zelda away from him although he wouldn't have minded continuing their kiss. He bolted to his feet and helped Zelda up to hers as well when he saw that she was limping slightly.

"The castle! What is going on at the castle?"

Cimar and Malon sat up quickly and turned to face their friends. Cimar and Link turned to look at each other before muttering a single name.

"Dark Link!"

The group of six got outside the temple as quickly as they could. They could see the castle from the square in front of the temple of time and what they saw froze their hearts. The entire edifice was in flames, every single window had fire shooting out of it. The building was an inferno.

"Dark Link is in there."

"So, why should we care, the orb that he carried would be destroyed by the fire. Your job is done." Draculina said in a remorseless tone.

"That isn't it though. The Fierce Deity was channeling its power through Cimar to destroy all of Hyrule. Dark Link said that he would stop it and told us to leave. He said"

Link was cut off as a loud explosion shook the ground and pierced the air. They turned and saw the top of the castle starting to crumble into its core. The building tumbled in on itself and finally crashed into a towering heap of rubble. The flames from the castle started to spread from the remains of the building to the surrounding area.

"If we don't do something soon, all of Hyrule will burn from that inferno. It hasn't rained for weeks and everything is dry!" Malon cried out. It was true. It had been a remarkable dry summer that year and no rain had fallen in weeks and with the way the fire was spreading the worst case scenario was the most likely case scenario.

"The song of storms" Link turned to Himmels who repeated herself. "The song of storms, Link. Play the song."

Link nodded and took out his ocarina and began to play the familiar notes. Almost instantly, a stiff breeze began to blow and the pitter patter of raindrops hitting the cobblestones around their feet met their ears. Within a minute the skies had produced a torrential downpour, putting out all of the flames that had been creeping towards Castle Town. The group retreated to the cover of the temple of time to wait out the storm yet Link only stayed in the doorframe, never taking his gaze off of the remains of the castle. He had a strange feeling. He just couldn't help but hope that Dark Link, the man who had been his enemy for so long was alright.

The rain stopped within thirty minutes and Link almost pushed the group up to the castle. It was an eerie sight that greeted them. Stones and burnt wood littered the ground while here and there little tendrils of smoke rose from the ground. The group walked right up to a large stone image of the triforce and Hylian eagle that had stood over the gate to the castle and now lay broken into pieces at their feet.

"It is all gone…everything. My home, Hyrule's history…all gone." Zelda groaned silently as she realized how much the fire had destroyed. Every single memory she owned had been in that building and now, nothing remained. Zelda's eyes started to glisten and she wrapped her arms around Link and cried silently into his chest. This battle between light and darkness had cost her almost everything and Link tried to comfort her as much as he could.

"Link over here, I found him!"

Link looked up to see Cimar standing over a pile of rubble and stood torn between two decisions. He looked down from Cimar to Zelda, back to Cimar and then back to Zelda.

"It's alright Link, go she'll be alright." Himmels said as she took the princess in her arms. Link turned and ran towards Cimar who was disappearing behind the pile of debris. He arrived just a few seconds after Cimar at the spot where Cimar was lifting some stone and revealed a tiny alcove that was protected from the collapse of the castle. Inside lay the prone figure of Dark Link. Burns covered most of his body and the bottom half of his right leg was missing but he was still somehow breathing. Link tried to say something but only one word could come to his mouth.

"Why?"

"Why?" Dark Link coughed as he spoke in a raspy voice. "Because…you have…something…here in Hyrule. I…have nothing…back home…just…destruction…and hate…" he grimaced at the last word and coughed again.

"Still, why did you do it? You could have kept us there and let Dark Cimar kill all of us. Why did you let us go?"

It sounded like Dark Link was chuckling yet his face remained emotionless. "I...no longer…serve…fierce deity…" he coughed. "I thought…that…this…would be, how…I could get back…at him…for destroying my life…and…destroying yours…" His body shuddered from blood loss and his face started to pale even further than what it normally looked like.

"I'm sorry…for all…the pain…I have…caused." He attempted to smile but the pain caused him to wince. "I now go back…to being…his slave…"

"I can't let you do that." Link said as he crouched down lower to Dark Link. "I know how you can prevent that from happening. I know what Fierce Deity is doing to your realm and I know how you can stop him."

Link reached down and whispered something into Dark Link's ear. The shadow's eyes widened in shock then slowly, tears started to form in the corner of his crimson eyes.

"Thank…you…Link. When I…get back…I will try…that…" Dark Link gasped and his breathing slowed, then finally stopped. Link felt for a pulse and shook his head when he found none.

"It seemed like he did the right thing after all…" Cimar said quietly. The two men slowly stood and paid their respects before turning and walking slowly away from the man who went from destroying their kingdom, to becoming its savior.

* * *

Dark Link found himself staring at the ground again in the realm of twilight. He slowly pushed himself off of the floor and shook his head.

"Dark Link, I'm so glad your back I missed you so!" He looked up and saw Dark Zelda running towards him. They embraced and Dark Link gave her a small kiss on the cheek.

"I know how to free us from our master…" he whispered softly into her ear. She leaned back in shock. "How, I mean…that isn't possible…is it?" Dark Link outlined his plan to her and she smiled.

"We have to tell Cimar and Malon." The two rushed towards their brother and sisters room and told them what they had to do. Cimar and Malon looked surprised at first yet once Dark Link outlined his plan, they agreed upon it quickly. They nodded their heads and Cimar and Link hid in the closet of the room right before the door burst open and the Fierce Deity walked into the room.

"Where is the traitor Dark Link, he has failed me for the last time!" he roared. Malon and Zelda nodded to each other and put their plan into action. The two women giggled softly and walked towards the Fierce Deity in the most seductive manner they could muster.

"Why would you be looking for him…"

"When you could be looking for us?" Malon finished.

"What is going on here? What are you doing? Stop that!" he roared as he slapped Malon's hand away when she started caressing his chest.

"I thought you would like that? I mean I always thought that you were a fierce person…I like that." She licked her lips and had to suppress her gag reflex. The Fierce Deity was now completely confused at the strange behavior of the two women and didn't notice when they wrapped their arms around his neck.

"Won't you stay and play with us awhile…"

"I'm sure it will be…fun."

Before he knew what was happening, the two women nodded and pulled at the front of the Fierce Deity's face. The man screeched in pain as the two women continued to pull until they felt the pull stop and something fall into their hands. Cimar and Link burst out of the closet and ran over to Malon and Zelda who were watching the transformation before them. The man started to shrink before their eyes until he was about the size of a child. Zelda stifled a giggle when the transformation was complete. Before them stood a short green man with red tights and a small goatee on his chin.

"So that is the fierce deity…" Link mused aloud as the man started to back away from them

"You will not hurt Tingle…will you?" he mumbled

The group of four looked at each other and smiled. "Only as much as you have hurt us." They replied.

The tiny man gulped in fear. No magic words would be saving him this time.

* * *

**Myself: That is the end!!! YAY!!!!!!!! I hope that everyone enjoyed it. I didn't even plan on the last thing happening with Tingle. It kind of popped into my mind and I thought it would be funny to insert at the end. Only the Epilogue left to read and it is short. Oh yeah, Please review, review, review! I would really appreciate any types of words from people.**

**HimmelsDraculina: We would also appreciate kind words as well.**

**Myself: YES!!! Say kind word to HimmelsDraculina as well! She has graciously allowed myself to use her in this story. Please go and read her stories. They are awesome!!!!**

**Draculina: Yes, they are… -glares-**


	28. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"Don't run so fast, you might trip and fall!" Malon yelled. The girl looked back at her mother and then began her chase of one of the cuccos in the yard. Malon smiled as she watched her running around the yard

"Link keep an eye on your sister. I don't want here getting hurt you know." The boy she was talking to was sitting on a fence near where his sister was playing. "Mom, Aryll can take care of herself though."

"Now, now Link you need to take care of her. She is your sister you know." Link looked back at his mom and then at his sister who had tired of running after the cucco and decided to run over to her mom. Malon picked her up and set her on her lap. Link was five, almost six now and Aryll was three. She heard the door to the house open and saw Cimar come walk out of it.

"When were they coming over again Malon? The food is almost ready." Cimar called out to her.

"They should be here any minute now." Aryll looked up her mom with joy in her eyes. "Is aunt Zelda coming over?" she asked, excitement bubbling up in her voice.

"Yes dear, aunt Zelda is coming over for dinner."

"YAY" was the reply from her daughter as she leapt off her lap and started to dance for joy to the laughter of her parents. As if right on cue, Malon heard the sound of wagon wheels coming up the path to the ranch. She watched as the open carriage turned around the last corner and came into view. The driver slowed the carriage down and a man hopped out of the back and opened the door for his wife to come out.

Young Link saw the visitors and his eyes widened in glee. "Hi uncle Link!" he yelled from his fence as he waved to the visitors before hopping off of the fence and began to run to them.

Link turned when he heard his name being called and waved back to the young boy on the fence before turning back to help Zelda out of the wagon. She stepped out and then waved her hand as if beckoning another person to come out. A little girl looked out of the carriage and then hopped out by herself to the displeasure of her mom. "Tetra you know better than to jump out like that, you could get hurt."

The little girl looked up at her mom. "I know, I won't do it again." She said as she gave her mom a big wink. Zelda smiled back at her daughter. She had been born around the same time as Link had been born to Malon. Zelda looked back up to see Malon walking towards her.

"Malon it's nice to see you again. You should visit the castle more often, we rarely see you anymore."

"The same goes for you as well you know." Malon responded. They hugged and exchanged a few bits of gossip and news about life at the castle or the ranch until they heard a bell ringing from the house.

"Dinner's ready, a gruff voice sounded from inside the house. Zelda, Link and Malon rounded up the children and packed them into the house and told them to wash up for dinner. The three kids ran to the sink and began to wash their hands with much giggling and laughing involved.

"MOM! Link just splashed me!" Tetra yelled to her mom from the sink.

"No I didn't!" came the reply.

"Kids, stop playing and go to the table." Cimar was standing in the doorway to the kitchen. "Grandpa made something special tonight."

The three children cheered and ran over to their seats and sat down as well as Cimar.

"I hope you guys like this!" Talon yelled from the kitchen. "I made it myself!" Talon came out of the kitchen holding a great big steaming pot. He set it down on the table and pulled the lid off. Talon had cooked up a great big pot of Lon Lon stew that Cimar instantly recognized. "I thought that only Malon knew how to cook this?" he wondered aloud. Talon laughed, "And who do you think taught her the recipe!"

"I thought you didn't like to cook though…" the older Link asked.

Talon grinned, "Well, I could always try to cook something else." A series of NO's erupted from the table as Talon sat down and chuckled.

Dinner had lasted for about an hour and then everyone helped clear the table and sat down next to the fireplace and talked for another three hours. Tetra started to yawn and pulled on her mothers dress, rubbing her eyes to stay awake. Zelda took her daughters hand and led her to one of the extra rooms that they were spending the night in. Cimar looked outside and saw that it was almost sunset and looked over at his two children, "It is time for bed now you two. Come on, upstairs, hurry up."

"Do we have to…" responded Link as he looked at his dad with a face that begged him to let him stay up."

"Yes, you have to. Now take Aryll upstairs with you and get ready for bed." Link led his sister up the stairs and into their room and shut the door.

Link looked over at Malon and Cimar then stretched. "I'm going to go help tuck my daughter into bed. She can be a handful sometimes." He walked over and into the room where he and his wife were staying and shut the door.

Cimar turned to Malon and pointed towards the door. If they left now they would have enough time to make it. They walked outside hand in hand towards a small hill that was located near the tower at one end of the ranch and sat down on a bench that Cimar had built just for this occasion.

"I have something for you," Cimar said breaking the silence, "but I didn't want to give it to you in front of Link and Zelda." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. "Remember the gift that I gave you when I left you to go to the castle all those years ago?" Malon nodded.

"Yes, I do. I'm sorry that I forgot it when I left the ranch. I was in such a hurry that I forgot about it…"

"Don't worry about it honey." Cimar said as he reached over and touched Malon's cheek. "I thought that you might like another one of them though." Cimar reached down and opened the box that he held and revealed two new crystals, each one with a hole through one end so it could be strung into a necklace. He pulled one of the crystals out and strung a string through it and lifted it over his wife's head and tied it behind her. Malon did the same for Cimar and they stared at each just as the sun was beginning to set.

"I'm glad that I found you out in the field so long ago." Malon whispered to Cimar as she reached over and kissed him. He gave her a kiss as well and smiled at her.

"I'm glad that you did too." He wrapped his arm around her as she placed her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around him and looked up into his eyes.

They both turned their attention to the sunset that they shared with each other every night for the past six years. The land gave off a golden hue as the sun began to descend below the hills to the west. It was so beautiful to watch.

After the sun had set and the stars started to dance across the sky, Malon looked at Cimar.

Malon stretched and stood up as Cimar did the same. They walked slowly back to their house, Malon's head resting on Cimar's shoulder and Cimar holding her in his arms. As they reached the door, Cimar started to open it but was stopped by Malon, who pulled Cimar down and kissed him.

"Thank you for everything you have done," she whispered as they separated and she walked inside the house. Cimar stood there for a moment and gazed at his wife who was climbing the stairs to their room.  
"No, thank you."

* * *

**It is finished, it is finally finished. To all that have made it through to this point, thanks for reading and reviewing. Writing this story has been the highlight of my summer and seeing the number of people reading it really makes me happy. I hope that you all have enjoyed it. Again, thanks for reading and if you have written any story about Zelda or anything relating to Zelda just send the name of it to me and I will try to read it when I get back from my two year hiatus. I always enjoy reading a new authors work.**


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